Box Score
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - Megan Stewart scored 25 points, dished out eight assists and registered five steals to lead visiting West Chester to an 85-80 victory in overtime over host Shippensburg in a PSAC East women's basketball showdown with playoff seeding implications in the balance.
West Chester (17-9, 7-6 PSAC East) moved into a three-way tie for third place as a result of the win. Shippensburg (14-15, 7-6) is one of the other two schools in the deadlock. Bloomsburg's win over Mansfield also pulled them into the mix.
Stewart capped a 21-9 run over the final 5:48 of regulation with a layup that knotted the score at 70-all with 21 seconds left and sent the game into overtime. The Golden Rams had trailed by 12 points with just under six minutes left when they turned the momentum in their favor.
Alex Lennon scored a career-high 13 points off the bench and Jillian Keefer scored 11 points in a reserve role. Renata Neal scored 11 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Allison Hostetter scored 11 points as well.
After trailing practically the entire second half, West Chester never fell behind in the OT period. Janelle Garber hit a jumper to give the Rams their first lead since halftime. Then Shippensburg's Kasey Gardner made one of two foul shots to pull the hosts to within one, and Stewart hit a layup to put West Chester up three as the Golden Rams never looked back.
Shippensburg's Lauren Beckley, the PSAC all-time leading scorer, poured in 27 points and 20 rebounds. Gardner scored 17 as the Raiders put all five starters in double figures.
West Chester returns home on Saturday for its regular-season finale against East Stroudsburg at 2 p.m. It is senior day at Hollinger Field House as the Golden Rams pay tribute to their four graduating seniors. All the action can be heard live on 91.7 WCUR-FM, or over the internet on Red Zone Media (www.redzonemedia.com).
