WCU Battles Back to Defeat Bloomsburg 74-63 on Monday

Follow the Golden Rams!
@WCUAthletics
/WCUAthletics
/WCUAthletics
/wcupais1


 
BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The West Chester University women's basketball team headed the Nelson Field House on Monday night to battle the Huskies from Bloomsburg University in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East showdown.

The Golden Rams entered Monday's outing at 8-4 overall (5-3 PSAC) and looking to earn their fourth-straight victory of the season. Standing in the way of West Chester's ninth win overall  were the 6-8 Huskies who returned home on Monday having lost three of its last four outings. The home team looked strong in the early goings, ending each of the first two quarters with a lead. Facing a slim two-point deficit after the first half, the Golden Rams increased their defensive pressure and touch from the field to outscore the Huskies 21-13 in in the fourth to grab the 74-63 victory on the road.

Bloomsburg got on the board first with a layup from Montana Taylor to start the game and did not look back in the opening frame. West Chester managed to tie the game at 7-7 following a triple by Camden Boehner (Gettysburg, Pa. / Gettysburg) at the 6:05 mark, but the Huskies quickly answered with a 7-0 run to retake the advantage (17-14) with 4:30 to play. The home team was able to extend the cushion to as many as ten points in the waning moments of the first quarter, before WCU's Lexi Bruno (Millville, N.J. / Millville) went on a solo 5-0 run to close out the first stanza and trim the Golden Rams' deficit to 21-16 heading into the second.

West Chester scored the first six points of the second quarter – capped by a jumper from Bruno – to claim the 22-21 advantage with 7:57 remaining. After a free throw by Mia Hopkins (Pittston, Pa. / Pittston) at the 4:49 mark put the visitors up one (27-26), Bloomsburg retook the lead with a three pointer and was able to push the cushion to five points with under two minutes to play. Down five, the Golden Rams closed out the half by scoring the final three points of the frame to bring the score to 34-32 in favor of the Huskies.

The Golden Rams trailed for a majority of the third quarter, until a triple by Boehner at the 4:25 mark knotted the outing at 46-46. The score would tie once more in the third stanza, until a free throws by Boehner with 2:50 to play gave West Chester the lead – a lead the Golden Rams would not relinquish for the remainder of the game.  Up one to start the fourth, the visitors slowly began building on its lead and eventually extended the cushion to as many as 13 points on two separate occasions. West Chester ended the game by converting on its final six shots from the charity stripe to seal the 74-63 victory on Monday night.

Bruno paced the Golden Rams' attack with a career-high 20 points against the Huskies, while Boehner notched 19 points and a career-high seven rebounds in 32 minutes. Hopkins tallied 16 points and seven boards in the win and Katherine Fisher (Ruttedge, Pa. / Strath Haven) put up eight points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor.

For the Huskies, Taylor Montana's 15 points led three players in double figures and her eight rebounds on the night were also tops on the team in the loss.