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EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. – Riding a 15-game winning streak, the West Chester University women's basketball team hit the road on Saturday afternoon to square off against East Stroudsburg University inside the Koehler Fieldhouse.
Saturday's contest pitted the top two teams out of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division against each other, as the Golden Rams came into today's game having recently clinched the top spot in the East and a first-round bye in the PSAC Tournament. On the other side of the court, the Warriors recently secured the No. 2 spot in the division after winning five of their last six games heading into Saturday's showdown.
Despite trailing at the half and struggling from the field through the first 20 minutes of action, the Golden Rams used a 62% shooting clip in the second half - paired with some late-game heroics from senior
Porscha Speller (Lancaster, Pa. / Lancaster Catholic) - to storm all the way back and defeat the Warriors 83-81 on Saturday afternoon. Saturday's victory pushes WCU to 21-4 on the year and 18-3 in league games and the win also brings the Golden Rams' current winning streak to 16 games – tying a program record set back during the 1971-72 season.
With the loss, East Stroudsburg falls to 16-8 on the year (14-6 PSAC) and Saturday's defeat snapped a seven-game home winning streak for ESU dating back to December 3.
The Golden Rams had a tough time shooting the ball in the first half – connecting on just 28% (9-of-32) of their shots from the floor and failing to hit any of their attempts from beyond the arc (0-7). Despite its offensive struggles, West Chester still only trailed by seven points (37-30) heading into the locker rooms.
The Warriors managed to build their lead to as many as 11 points to start the second half, but the Golden Rams refused to go down quietly. Down one, a jumper by Speller at the 1:46 mark gave West Chester its first lead of the game (51-50) and capped a 21-11 WCU run to start the third stanza. Both teams exchanged advantages over the next few moments and a layup by
Katherine Fisher (Rutledge, Pa. / Strath Haven) reset the game at 56-56 heading into the fourth quarter.
A jumper by
Gabrielle Troisi (Norristown, Pa. / Pope John Paul II) started the final frame to put the visitors up two (58-56) and WCU was able to extend that cushion to as many as eight points (77-69) following another Troisi layup with just under three minutes to play. The Warriors answered back with a 6-0 spurt to hack the deficit to just two (77-75), before a huge triple by Speller late in the shot clock stretched the Golden Rams' lead back to two possessions (80-75) with 30 ticks remaining. Despite the momentum-changing shot by Speller, WSU was far from shook, as a three-pointer by Jordan Hertz brought the home team within just a single point (81-80) with 12 seconds to play.
Lexi Bruno (Millville, N.J. / Millville) was fouled on the ensuing inbounds play and the senior stepped to the line and knocked down both of her free throws to put West Chester up 83-80 with just eight ticks left on the clock.
The Warriors' Tiffany Lapotsky was then fouled beyond the three-point line and was sent to the charity stripe with her team down three and with just two seconds to play. Lapotsky knocked down the first shot to bring the score to 83-81 but her second shot sailed wide left and out of bounds, but luckily for ESU the ball was called off of West Chester to give the Warriors one last shot with just a second remaining. Although East Stroudsburg managed to get the ball in, the buzzer sounded before it was able to put up a shot, giving the Golden Rams the 83-81 come-from-behind victory on the road.
West Chester shot 46% (30-of-66) from the floor but only managed to connect on one of its 10 attempts from behind the arc (10%). The Golden Rams recorded a 71% clip from the charity stripe on Saturday and their 22 made free throws against the Warriors were the second most for the squad this season.
Speller's 25 points on Saturday were a game high and marked the fourth time in the last six games (10th overall) that the senior eclipsed 20 points in a contest. Fellow senior
Mia Hopkins (Pittston, Pa. / Pittston) logged her team-leading 10th double-double (18 points/10 rebounds) in the win, while Bruno added 15 points and a team-high three assists in her second-straight start.
ESU's Imani Brown paced four Warriors in double figures, while Jordan Hertz logged a double-double (10 points/11 rebounds) in the losing effort.
