WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Conference games are always important. Coaches will tell you that no one in particular conference game is anymore important than another. However, Saturday's tilt between West Chester and Bloomsburg seems to be a bit more critical.
West Chester University (12-3, 8-3) hosts Bloomsburg University (14-3, 8-3) in a women's basketball "Battle for First Place" Saturday afternoon at Hollinger Field House. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. The game can be heard on Brandywine Radio (
www.brandywineradio.com). L.J. Harrell will call all the action while Peter Bernosky provides the color analysis.
Granted, it is still January, and the two teams will collide again on Feb. 11 in Bloomsburg, but the winner Saturday gains the inside track to the division title.
“This is the type of game you practice for all year long,” WCU head coach Deirdre Kane said. “It’s a battle for first place. If we can take away their 3-point shot, then we have a good chance of winning.”
West Chester and Bloomsburg are both 8-3 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference play and atop the Eastern Division standings. Each of their three losses came to the same three teams (Edinboro, IUP, Gannon). Each brings a four-game winning streak into Saturday’s showdown, and each is also among the top three schools in the PSAC in scoring offense – average 73.9 points per game. Each also allows on average 64 points per contest. Needless to say, the two sides share quite a few similarities.
“We have definitely been looking forward to this game for quite awhile,” senior guard Jillian Keefer said. “They got us twice last year, including senior day. So, we have had this game marked for some time. We know that if we win, we can control the East.”
Saturday's contest will feature some of the best talent in the Eastern Division. These two rivals combined to put four of the six players on the preseason all-league squad. Dana Wieller and Kelsey Gallagher from Bloomsburg were accompanied by West Chester's Allison Hostetter and Alexandra Lennon on the preseason team.
Wieller is third in the conference in scoring and leads the PSAC in 3-point field goal percentage. She will be the main focus of Coach Kane’s defense. Meanwhile, Hostetter is fifth in the league in scoring and averaging 15.2 ppg. That is your marquee matchup heading into the showdown.
