WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Looking to extend its winning streak to three games, the West Chester University women's basketball team (4-2) returned home on Sunday afternoon to square off against non-conference foe Holy Family (2-3). West Chester utilized a dominant second half of basketball to earn the 71-56 victory.
The Basics:
Final Score: West Chester 71 Holy Family 56
Records: West Chester (4-2) Holy Family (2-3)
Location: West Chester, Pa.-Hollinger Field House
How it Happened:
- In the first quarter, West Chester struggled mightily from the field as the Golden Rams shot just 4-of-13 (30.8 %) scoring 11 points, however, the West Chester defense was strong as its guests mustered only 16 points on 5-of-14 (35.7 %) shooting from the field to keep the Golden Rams within five heading to the second quarter.
- In the second quarter, Holy Family shot the ball very well going 9-of-14 (64.3 %) from the field including 3-of-6 (50.0 %) from three-point range. This hot shooting allowed the visiting Tigers to build their lead to as many as 17 with just over five minutes to play in the half. However, West Chester stormed shortly before halftime outscoring its guests by a margin of 14-4 over the course of the final minutes of the half to trail by just 10 (39-29) heading to the break.
- This late momentum first half momentum carried over to the second half nicely as West Chester opened the third quarter with a 15-3 run in the first five minutes of the second half. This big run allowed West Chester to grab its first lead of the game at 44-42 midway through the third quarter. West Chester kept its foot on the gas from this point ending the third with another 13-7 run to outscore its opponents 28-10 in the third quarter of play, thus, giving West Chester a 57-49 lead heading to the fourth.
- In the fourth quarter, West Chester played its best defensive quarter of the afternoon holding its guests to just 1-of-10 (10.0 %) shooting from the field while forcing Holy Family to go 0-for-4 from beyond the arc. This combined with a 6-for-14 (42.9 %) shooting performance from the field for West Chester allowed the Golden Rams to roll to the 71-56 victory after trailing by as many as 17 in the first half.
Golden Ram Roundup:
- Destiny Jefferson (Scranton, Pa./West Scranton) continued her impressive week as she led all scorers once again with 22 points and four rebounds on 9-of-16 shooting to help lead West Chester to victory. Freshman Zhane Snow (Wilmington, Del./Concord) has also continued to play well in her first month of collegiate basketball scoring another 12 points to go along with four rebounds on 4-of-6 shooting and a perfect 1-for-1 from deep. Gabrielle Troisi (Rutledge, Pa./Strath Haven) was the final Golden Ram to break into double-figures as she ended with another double-double scoring 11 points while coming away with a game-high 13 rebounds including 10 defensive boards.
- West Chester ended the contest shooting 26-of-56 (46.4 %) from the field and 3-of-10 (30.0 %) from long range while also going 16-for-21 from the charity stripe.
- Additionally, West Chester managed to end the game with another plus-13 advantage in rebounds after out rebounding its guests by a margin of 43-30. West Chester also ended the contest with advantages in points off turnovers (19-18), points in the paint (36-22), second-chance points (13-10), fast break points (19-8) and points off the bench (25-17) to help propel West Chester to the come from behind victory.
Tale of the Tigers:
- Katie O'Hare and Molly Masciantonio tied to lead the Tigers in scoring as they each poured in 14 points while teammate Anjelai Hayes scored 10 points as the final Tiger in double-figures. Masciantonio also tied Schweitzer for the team lead in rebounds as they each secured six boards courtesy of two offensive boards and four defensive rebounds for each player.
- After a strong first half shooting the ball, Holy Family struggled mightily in the second half as the Tigers did not hit a three-pointer and they went just 3-of-14 (21.4 %) from the field in the third before going 1-of-10 (10.0 %) in the fourth quarter. For the game, Holy Family shot 18-of-52 (34.6 %) from the field and 5-of-19 (26.3 %) from three-point range while going just 15-for-25 (60.0 %) from the charity stripe.
- Holy Family also tied West Chester in turnovers as each team forced 15 turnovers, however, the Golden Rams did end the game with a 9-5 edge in steals.
Up Next:
West Chester will take to the road on Wednesday evening to face Jefferson before returning home for the PSAC East/West crossover weekend against Edinboro and California (Pa.) on December 1
st and 2
nd in what will be the Golden Rams final home games of the 2018 season.
