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WEST CHESTER, Pa. - Looking to snap a two-game conference losing streak, the West Chester University women's basketball team returned home on Saturday afternoon to welcome Mercyhurst University to town for a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) contest.
Sitting at 4-3 on the year, the Golden Rams came into Saturday's conference matchup still seeking its first win inside Hollinger Field House after dropping both outings last weekend to then-No.7 Indiana University of Pennsylvania on Saturday and Seton Hill University on Sunday afternoon. On the other bench, the Lakers (4-5) came to West Chester unblemished in league play at 3-0 and coming off a 14-point victory over Mansfield last Sunday on the road.
It was a slow start for both squads to start the game, as both teams struggled to find the bottom of the net in the opening half. The Lakers held a slim 15-14 advantage after the first ten minutes before both sides failed to score in double figures in the second quarter (MU – 7 | WCU – 8) to bring the game to a lowly 22-22 entering the locker rooms. Despite the slow start, West Chester was able to find its shot in the second 20 minutes – improving from 31% shooting from the floor to 59% - and started to pull away down the stretch. With the defense amped up and the offense finally clicking - thanks to 14 second-half points from
Porscha Speller (Lancaster, Pa. / Lancaster Catholic) - the Golden Rams outscored the visitors by 19 in the final 20 minutes to grab the 72-53 victory at home.
With the score knotted at 22-22,
Camden Boehner (Gettysburg, Pa. / Gettysburg) sunk a triple to spark a 5-0 West Chester run to start the second half and put the home team up 27-22 with eight minutes to go in the third frame. Following a layup from the Lakers' Jamaya Shabazz (7:07), the Golden Rams scored the next seven-unanswered points to push the advantage to 11 points (38-27) with just under five minutes remaining. Mercyhurst would be unable to get any closer than seven points for the rest of the third and the scoreboard read 44-35 in favor of West Chester through three.
It was all West Chester in the fourth, as the squad built a cushion as large as 20 points on five separate occasions before the home team would eventually step off the court with the key 19-point victory at home to improve to 5-3 overall and 2-3 in league play.
After being held scoreless in the first half, Speller bounced back with 14 points in the second 20 minutes to tie her for the team lead with
Katherine Fisher (Ruttedge, Pa. / Strath Haven), whose 14 points on Saturday marked a career high for the sophomore guard. Boehner added 10 points in the win, while
Mia Hopkins (Pittston, Pa. / Pittston) chipped in seven points and a team-high eight boards for the Golden Rams on Saturday. As a team, West Chester shot 33-of-66 (45.5%) from the field and 24% (5-of-21) from deep, while connecting on all seven of its attempts from the charity stripe.
Mercyhurst's Emilee Norris scored the most points of any player on Saturday with 17 on 8-of-15 shooting and Maria Lapertosa contributed eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds in 33 minutes played.
