Women's Basketball Prepares for No. 14 U Sciences on Wednesday Evening

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WEST CHESTER, Pa.- After going 1-1 to open the 2018-19 season the West Chester University women's basketball team (1-1) returns to the court on Wednesday night looking to improve its record against a ranked foe in No. 14 University of the Sciences (2-0). This game will be third in a four-game home stand for the Golden Rams and the game is scheduled to tip-off at 5:30 p.m.

West Chester enters this contest after splitting its first two games to open the season defeating UVA-Wise 71-57 to open the season before being tripped up by Notre Dame College (OH) on Sunday afternoon by a final score of 81-72 to halt the Golden Rams regular season winning streak at 18 games. West Chester's guests No. 14 ranked U Sciences enter this contest with a perfect 2-0 record after sweeping a pair of NE-10 opponents in the CACC/NE10 Conference Challenge to open the season.
 
The Golden Rams opened their season on Saturday afternoon by defeating the Cavs of UVA-Wise by a final score of 71-57. West Chester never trailed in this contest as the Golden Rams opened the game with a 7-2 run to take the early lead. West Chester did not look back from here on out as the Golden Rams kept the Cavs at bay opening up a lead as large as 16 late in the fourth quarter to roll to the victory. West Chester did benefit from a poor shooting performance from its visitors as Wise shot just 33.3 % from the field including just 22.2 % from three-point range and a disappointing 50 % from the line. Meanwhile West Chester shot 37.5 % from the field while shooting at a 30.4 % clip from downtown and registering a 69.6 free-throw percentage. Destiny Jefferson was the leading scorer for West Chester in this matchup as she poured in a game-high 20 points while also ripping down six rebounds. West Chester also received a boost from freshman Zhane Snow who had a stellar collegiate debut with 18 points thanks to game-best 6-of-8 shooting from the field while also going 2-of-3 from three-point range. Despite a double-double from UVA-Wise's Cynita Webb (18 points/19 rebounds) West Chester still ended the game with 47-to-43 edge in rebounds thanks to a plus four advantage on the defensive glass.  This victory kept West Chester unbeaten in regular season games played in 2018. Following the victory on Saturday, West Chester is now on a 18 game regular-season winning streak dating back to December 19^th, 2017 when the team lost to U Sciences.
 
 On Sunday afternoon, West Chester welcomed the Notre Dame College Falcons to Hollinger Field House for the final game of the Carol Eckman Memorial Tournament. In this contest, both teams battled throughout the game to keep it close throughout but a mid-game run by Notre Dame was too much to overcome as the Falcons earned the 81-72 victory. West Chester ended the first quarter tied with its guests at 18-18 but a five-point deficit in the second quarter followed by another three-point deficit in the third had West Chester trailing by eight entering the final quarter of play. In the final quarter, West Chester and Notre Dame saw its offenses come alive as each team scored above 25 points in the quarter for the first time all game as NDC registered 27 while WCU recorded 26 points of its own but it was not enough to avoid the nine-point loss. Gabrielle Troisi had a huge day as she registered her first double-double of the season with 29 points and 15 rebounds to lead all-scorers in both categories. Katherine Fisher and Destiny Jefferson also found their way into double-figures for the second time in as many games as Fisher poured in 12 points while Jefferson chipped in 10 points of her own.
 
Troisi's performance on Sunday afternoon set new career-highs for both points and rebounds as she poured in 29 points to go along with 15 rebounds eclipsing her previous highs of 14 points and 10 rebounds both of which were set in the final two months of the 2018 season. Jefferson also tied her career-high in points while setting a new career-high for rebounds on Saturday afternoon as she scored 20 points while also securing six rebounds. Jefferson also tied her career-high for steals in Saturday's victory as she came away with five steals to help West Chester top UVA-Wise.
 
Troisi is currently the Golden Rams leading scorer and rebounder as she is averaging 16.5 points per game and 12 rebounds per contest to open the season. These averages place Troisi just outside the top-10 in the conference in scoring average and third in the conference in rebounds per game through the first two games of the 2018 season. As a team West Chester is squarely in the middle of the pack when it comes to both offense and defense as the Golden Rams rank ninth in the PSAC in scoring offense averaging 71.5 points per game while ranking seventh in defense holding opponents to an average of 69 points per game.
 
U Sciences is entering tonight's matchup coming off a pair of wins to open the season in the CACC/NE10 Conference Challenge. Sciences was on the floor for the first time in 2018 on Friday night against American International College (AIC).    Despite trailing 20-13 following the opening quarter of play the Devils still managed to come away with the opening night victory winning by a final score of 60-51. Sciences had a huge second quarter in which it outscored its guests by a 18-5 margin to take 31-25 lead to the halftime break. In the third quarter, Sciences extended its lead outscoring its guests 16-11 to take a commanding 47-36 lead to the fourth and final quarter of play. This lead proved to be vital as AIC attempted to mount a comeback outscoring its hosts 15-13 in the final stanza but it was not enough to overcome the nine point deficit, thus, improving Sciences to 1-0 on the year. 

U Sciences was back in action on Saturday afternoon against a talented Franklin Pierce squad and much like the night before it was a two quarter run by the Devils that led them to victory Sciences came out of the gates quickly to take a 27-13 lead to the halftime break thanks in large part to a first quarter performance that saw the Devils outscore their opponents 16-6 in the opening 10 minutes. However, this early lead was quickly reduced as the Ravens had an answer in the third quarter outscoring their hosts 16-8 to trim the deficit to 35-29 heading to the fourth. In the fourth quarter, Sciences held off a late push once again narrowly outscoring its guests 21-19 to hold on for the 56-48 victory, which improved the No. 14 Devils to a perfect 2-0 on the year.

Irisa Ye is the leading scorer for Sciences so far this year as she is averaging 16 points per game and six rebounds per contest to lead the team in both categories. Ye is also tied atop the team rankings in assists per game averaging 3.0 assists per contest over the course of her first two games of the season.

U Sciences has had two relatively low scoring games to open the season as the Devils are averaging just 58 points per game while allowing opponents to score just 49 points per game to open the 2018-19 season. Sciences currently ranks eighth in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) in scoring averaging just 58 points per game but the Devils make up for this limited offensive production by leading the conference in fewest points allowed holding opponents to an average of just 49 points per game to open the season.

Historically, West Chester has had the upper-hand in games against University of the Sciences as the Golden Rams lead the all-time series 14-5. However, West Chester is currently riding a one game losing streak as the Golden Rams fell to the Devils in December 2017 by a final score of 82-67.

Following this contest, West Chester will quickly turn its attention to its next opponent in Salem University as the Tigers will visit Hollinger Field House on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.