WEST CHESTER, Pa. – After closing the regular season on a record-breaking 17-game winning streak, the West Chester University women's basketball team entered the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) playoffs with high expectations. The team certainly lived up to those expectations in the quarterfinal as they cruised past Kutztown winning by a final score of 81-72.
West Chester is currently on an 18-game winning streak that started back on Dec. 30 when the team defeated Kutztown inside Hollinger Field House by a score of 76-58.
In the first quarter of play, West Chester jumped out on an 8-0 run spurred by back-to-back 3-pointers from
Lexi Bruno (Millville, N.J./Millville). Kutztown got on the board with 6:15 to play in the first thanks to a Taylor Thames layup. But, West Chester responded with another 9-0 run to open the first quarter on a 17-2 spurt that spanned the first six and a half minutes of play. Kutztown ended the quarter on an 8-6 run. But, West Chester still managed to take a commanding 23-10 lead after the first quarter. Bruno led all scorers in the first as she scored nine points, shooting a perfect 3-for-3 from the field and from 3-point range.
In the second quarter, the first two and a half minutes of play were very evenly matched as the teams traded baskets. Eventually, West Chester managed to go on a 7-2 run to take a 38-19 lead with just over four minutes left to play in the half. Overall, West Chester outscored its guests by a 21-12 margin in the second quarter, which allowed them to take a commanding 44-22 lead into the locker room.
West Chester shot a blistering 7-for-12 (58.3%) from 3-point range in the first half, to go along with 15-for-33 (45.5%) shooting from the field. The Golden Rams also went 7-for-9 (77.8 %) from the free throw line in the first half. Kutztown, meanwhile, struggled to find the range in the first half as they shot just 7-for-28 from the field (25%) and 4-for-12 (33%) from downtown. The Golden Bears also went 4-for-6 (66.7%) from the charity stripe. WCU held a noticeable 26-14 advantage in rebounds as well as an 11-9 edge in turnovers.
Coming out of the locker room, both teams had a handful of early miscues. But, West Chester still managed to shoot 8-for-14 (57.1%) from the field while going 2-for-4 (50%) from 3-point range. Kutztown did manage to outscore West Chester in the third as it held a narrow 30-27 advantage for the quarter. West Chester committed a costly eight turnovers in the third, while Kutztown committed just four. But, the impressive halftime lead allowed West Chester to retain a 67-52 lead heading to the fourth quarter.
During the fourth quarter, each side struggled to find the range during the first six minutes of play. At the first media timeout, West Chester was outscoring Kutztown by a narrow 6-4 margin. Kutztown ended up outscoring West Chester in the fourth by a 20-14 margin. But, once again, the early lead continued to pay dividends as West Chester hung on for the 81-72 victory.
Overall, West Chester shot 26-for--61 (42.6%) from the field while shooting 9-for-19 (47.4%) from deep. West Chester also shot 20-for-29 (69%) from the charity stripe en route to the victory. The West Chester defense stood tall yet again as it held Kutztown to just 25-for-66 (37.9%) shooting from the field, 9-for-27 (33.3%) from 3-point land and 13-for-19 (68.4%) from the charity stripe. The Golden Rams ended the game with a 46-37 advantage on the class including a 32-25 advantage on the defensive glass. West Chester held narrow leads in both points off turnovers and second-chance points while a 21-20 advantage in points off turnovers while they held a 15-7 advantage in second-chance points.
Bruno ended the game with a game-high 22 points, along with seven rebounds, four steals and four rebounds to held lead West Chester vo victory.
Camden Boehner (Gettysburg, Pa./Gettysburg) turned in a strong performance as well with 16 points, as well as a pair of rebounds and a pair of assists.
Mia Hopkins (Pittston, Pa./Pittston) and Katherine Fisher (Rutledge, Pa./Strath Haven) both scored 12 points while Hopkins came away with 12 rebounds for yet another double-double while Fisher pulled down eight rebounds of her own. Â
Rylee Derr was the leading scorer for Kutztown as she scored 17 points while also coming away with four rebounds and a pair of assists.
West Chester will face t Edinboro (No. 2 seed - West) in the PSAC Semifinals on Saturday, March 3, at 1 p.m. on the campus of Indiana University (Pa.)Â
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