Box Score
WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Brittany Sicinski scored 20 points, and Paige Elliott added 15 points off the bench, as host West Chester University bounced back from a heart-breaking loss to Kutztown earlier in the week to defeat arch-rival Millersville, 94-78, Saturday afternoon inside Hollinger Field House.
West Chester (9-6, 6-5 PSAC) held Millersville (10-5, 7-4) to 35.8 percent shooting from the field while scoring a season-high 54 points in the second half in hanging the second-highest point total on the Marauders during head coach Mary Fleig’s tenure. It was the most points any team has scored on Millersville since the Golden Rams beat the Marauders, 94-80, in the first round of the PSAC Tournament in 2001.
Sicinski’s 20-point night was her second of the season and one point shy of her career-best 21 against Lock Haven on Jan. 5. It was the most she has put up at home this winter. Sicinski went to the foul line 11 times in a game that saw the two teams combine for 77 free throw attempts. The Golden Rams hit 9 of their 11 attempts in the first half. Meanwhile, Millersville converted just 25 of 42 attempts from the charity stripe.
The win moves West Chester within one game of both Millersville and Kutztown in the league standings. Bloomsburg, winners over Cheyney Saturday, remain in first place one game ahead of both the Marauders and Golden Bears.
Ambreelinne Ortman and Serifat Junaid each registered 10 points as the Rams put four players in double figures. Lost in the 50 personal fouls whistled and West Chester’s bid for 100 points in the game was senior forward Alexandra Lennon scoring her 1,000th career point in the win. She becomes the 17th player in West Chester history to reach 1,000 points in a career.
Lennon added a team-best nine rebounds and blocked four shots as well. She now has 257 career blocked shots and moves into third place all-time in the PSAC. Lennon passed Carlita Jones (Clarion) and Susie Gyarfas (Cal) on Saturday. Former Bloomsburg star Amy Wolf (268) is next up for Lennon.
West Chester led by as many as 21 points early in the second half. The Golden Rams held the lead in the game for all but 39 seconds. WCU took control of the game with a 12-5 mini-run that helped the hosts open up a 17-12 advantage. From there, the Golden Rams embarked on a 16-10 spurt that gave them a 33-22 lead later in the first half.
Millersville’s Senada Mehmedovic scored a team-high 18 points off the bench. The Marauders matched the Golden Rams with four players in double figures as well. Celeste Robinson posted her first career double-double with 14 points and a team-best 11 rebounds. Miesha Cousins and Carly Gallagher each scored 11 points for the visitors. Nine of Gallagher’s points came from the foul line.
West Chester travels to Shippensburg on Wednesday evening for yet another pivotal PSAC East showdown at 6 p.m. inside Heigis Fieldhouse.
