West Chester Races Past Lock Haven 88-55 on Saturday

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LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - The West Chester University women's basketball team headed to the Thomas Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon to take on Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) east opponent Lock Haven University.

Although better known for their high-scoring offense, the Golden Rams' defense stole the show on Saturday afternoon.  Even though both teams scored 38 points in the second half, it was West Chester's dominance in the opening half that separated these two squads on Saturday. The visitors held the host Bald Eagles to just 17 points in the opening frame; setting up the foundation for the big 88-55 Golden Rams win on the road.

West Chester moves to 11-4 overall and 8-3 in PSAC action with the win. Saturday's victory marks the six straight for the Golden Rams and moves WCU's road record to 6-2 on the season.

Lock Haven's 17 points in the first half marked the fewest a West Chester opponent has scored since 2013 and the Bald Eagles 26% (17-of-37) shooting from the field was the lowest percentage against the Golden Rams this season.

West Chester raced out to a 12-1 advantage to start the game, before ending the first quarter on 15-7 run to take the 27-8 lead into the second quarter. The visitors followed up a dominating first quarter with an equally impressive second stanza, putting up 23 total points while allowing just nine to take the big 50-17 cushion into the locker rooms.

Lock Haven actually outscored the Golden Rams 20-16 in the third, but the deficit remained seemingly insurmountable at 66-37 heading into the fourth. West Chester continued to pile it on in the fourth and built a lead as large as 36 points at the 3:50 mark following a layup by Gabrielle Troisi (Norristown, Pa. / Pope John Paul II). The Bald Eagles' final points of the outing came off two free throws by Mackenzie Livingston, before Troisi connected on another layup to close out the game and seal the 88-55 victory for West Chester on the road.

Justyn Roberts (Harrisburg, Pa. / C.D. East)' career-high 18 points led five Golden Rams in double figures, while Mia Hopkins (Pittston, Pa. / Pittston) recorded 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds in the win. Playing in 22 minutes, Porscha Speller (Lancaster, Pa. / Lancaster Catholic) handed out a team-high five assists on Saturday to go along with eight boards and 10 points against the Bald Eagles.

Rayah Fink paced the Lock Haven offense with 13 points on Saturday and Ahnera Parker pulled down a team-high eight boards in the loss.