Sicinski and Kuntz Lead West Chester To Ninth Straight Win, 85-77 (OT)

Box Score

EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. – Sr., G Brittany Sicinski (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) established a career high with 28 points, and Anna Kuntz added a career-best 22 more, as visiting West Chester downed host East Stroudsburg, 85-77 in overtime, in a PSAC East showdown inside Koehler Field House Wednesday evening.
 
West Chester (17-5, 14-4 PSAC) upped its current winning streak to nine, the school's longest since 2006-07, while pushing its personal win streak over East Stroudsburg (11-11, 9-9) to seven straight in the process.
 
The Golden Rams have now won 13 of their last 14 and moved into first place all alone as a result of Millersville's win over Shippensburg.
 
Sicinski added 11 rebounds to her 28 points, recording her second double-double of the season and sixth in her illustrious career. Kuntz hauled down 13 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the year and seventh in her college career. West Chester head coach Kiera Wooden praised the play of her senior forward in a must-win game for the Rams.
 
"That was one of the focal points (Kuntz) and I talked about before the game," Wooden said. "About finishing in the paint with that physical toughness and being a rebounding machine – playing like 'Big Ann', instead of Anna – I think she did that tonight."
 
The Golden Rams outscored the Warriors, 14-6, in the extra session to pull away. The eight-point margin of victory was the highest differential in the score all night for either side. East Stroudsburg went cold from the field in five-minute overtime, making just 2 of 10 shots from the field and missing all six 3-point attempts.
 
Dallas Ely (Montrose, Pa./Montrose) assisted on a bucket by Kendall Benovy (Hershey, Pa./Hershey) with 1:09 remaining in regulation that put the Rams in front (70-69), and then nailed one of two free throws with 20 ticks left that pushed the visitor's lead to two (71-69). However, ESU's Rebecca Rutkowski hit a jumper with 7 seconds to go to send the game into OT.
 
Ely (15 points, 7 rebounds) got things started in the overtime with a conventional 3-point play that was followed up by a jumper from Sicinski, giving West Chester a five-point lead that it would not relinquish the rest of the way.
 
Benovy finished with 10 points, making it four players in double figures for the Golden Rams Wednesday.
 
West Chester returns home on Saturday to face PSAC East rival Mansfield at Hollinger Fieldhouse at 1 p.m. It is the team's annual Play4Kay Game with plenty of games and prizes to be won throughout the women's contest.
 
NOTES: Senior guards Dallas Ely and Brittany Sicinski each eclipsed 1,500 career points in the same game … Ely became the second player in school history to reach the milestone in the second quarter while Sicinski became just the third to do it in the third quarter … Ely now has 1,514 career points after tonight's win over East Stroudsburg … the school record of 1,556 career points is held by Kiesha Mack (2000-01, 2002-05) … Sicinski has 1,512 career points … Sicinski also broke the school record for career made field goals with 574 … the old record was held by her current head coach, Kiera Manlove Wooden (565).