KUTZTOWN, Pa.- Looking to snap a six-game losing streak and extend its PSAC Eastern Division winning streak to 18 games the West Chester University women's basketball team (4-9, 0-6 PSAC) took to the road on Saturday afternoon to square off against Kutztown (4-7, 4-2 PSAC). West Chester fought throughout the game but Kutztown was able to hold off a late charge from the Golden Rams to pick up the 76-66 victory.
The Basics:
Final Score: Kutztown 76 West Chester 66
Records: WCU (4-9, 0-6 PSAC) Kutztown (4-7, 4-2 PSAC)
Location: Keystone Arena-Kutztown, Pa.
How it Happened:
- In the first quarter, the two teams traded baskets to make the score 19-18 heading to the second quarter of play.
- West Chester sputtered out of the gates in the second quarter as Kutztown outscored its guests 15-0 over the course of the first near eight minutes of the quarter, thus, allowing the Golden Bears to take a commanding 34-18 lead. However, West Chester answered back with a 9-3 run over the course of the final 2:21 of the first half to trail by just 10 (37-27) heading to the half. Destiny Jefferson (Scranton, Pa./West Scranton) led all scorers at the halftime break with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting including a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.
- The Golden Rams late first-half momentum carried over to open the second half as West Chester began the third quarter on a 10-3 run to cut the Kutztown lead to just 40-37 with slightly over six minutes to play in the quarter. However, following this early run, it was Kutztown's turn to go on a big run as the Golden Bears outscored the Golden Rams 17-6 over the course of the remaining six minutes to hold a 57-43 lead heading to the fourth and final quarter of play.
- West Chester opened the fourth quarter on a 7-3 run to trim the deficit to just 10 once again, which prompted an early Kutztown timeout. Following this timeout Gabrielle Troisi (Norristown, Pa./Pope John Paul II) registered a layup and drained a free throw to make the score 60-53 with slightly over seven minutes to play in the game. West Chester continued to battle back as the Golden Rams trimmed the deficit to as few as four points but it was not enough as Kutztown proved to be too much in the 76-66 defeat.
Golden Ram Rundown:
- Jefferson ended the game as the Golden Rams leading scorer and tied with Rylee Derr as the games leading scorer with 26 points, three rebounds, and four assists on 9-of-16 shooting including an impressive 4-of-6 from three-point range. This 26 point performance is also just one point shy of Jefferson's career-high of 27 points.
- Joining Jefferson in double-figures were Madison Torresin (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) and Troisi who each scored 11 points while Troisi led the team in rebounding with six rebounds on the afternoon. For Torresin, this is her third straight game in double-figures as she scored 14 in each of the Golden Rams previous two contests before scoring 11 in this afternoon's game.
- As a team, West Chester shot 41.5 % (22-for-53) from the field while shooting a season-best 57.1 % (4-for-7) from deep. The Golden Rams also shot 75.0 % (18-of-24) from the charity stripe, which was just shy of the team's season-high performance in this category as well.
For the Golden Bears:
- Derr was the Golden Bears leading scorer once again with 26 points while Karen Lapkiewicz was the only other Golden Bear to find her way into double-figures scoring 21 points in the victory. Derr also collected a game-high 10 rebounds to register a double-double for Kutztown.
- As a team, Kutztown shot 42.4 % (25-of-59) from the field while also shooting 29.6 % (8-for-27) from three-point range. The Golden Bears also shot 81.8 % (18-of-22) from the charity stripe on the afternoon. Kutztown also ended the game with a decisive plus-12 advantage (40-to-28) in rebounding thanks in large part to a plus-seven (17-to-10) edge on the offensive glass.
Up Next:
West Chester will take to the road to square off against Division I foe Liberty on Tuesday, January 2
nd with that game scheduled to tipoff at 5 p.m.
