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KUTZTOWN, Pa. - The West Chester University women's basketball team hit the road on Saturday afternoon and headed to the Keystone Arena to square off against Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) opponent Kutztown University.
The Golden Rams PSAC-leading offense was on full display inside the Keystone Arena, as West Chester jumped out to a big 14-point lead to start the game. Fueled by five players scoring in double digits, the visiting Golden Rams were able to maintain that double-figure lead for the remainder of the contest to leave Kutztown with a convincing 93-69 victory on the road.
The win pushes West Chester to 17-4 overall and keeps the Golden Rams ahead of East Stroudsburg in the PSAC Eastern standing behind a 14-3 mark in league games. Saturday's victory extends WCU's winning streak to 12 games and give the Golden Rams their longest winning streak under Head Coach Kiera Wooden and the most wins in a row for the program since the 2002-03 season.
After scoring the first seven points of the game, the visiting Golden Rams raced out to a 18-4 lead following back-to-back free throws by
Porscha Speller (Lancaster, Pa. / Lancaster Catholic). Kutztown managed to trim the deficit down to nine (18-9) with 2:25 remaining in the first quarter, but West Chester quickly answered back with a 6-2 run to close out the opening frame and put WCU on top 24-10 after the first 10 minutes of action.
The Golden Rams kept the pressure up in the second quarter and were able to stretch their cushion to 20 points midway through the frame. Up 45-24, a layup by
Lexi Bruno (Millville, N.J. / Millville) gave West Chester its largest lead of the half (23 points) with just over a minute to play. Although the Golden Bears scored the final five points of the first half, West Chester still managed to take an 18-point cushion (47-29) into the locker rooms.
WCU maintained its comfortable lead for the duration of the second half thanks to some efficient shooting from both the field and the charity stripe. The visitors connected on 62% (17-of-28) of their shots from the floor and 9-of-10 of their attempts from the free throw line in the second half to leave Kutztown with the 24-point victory on Saturday afternoon.
Overall, the Golden Rams connected on 34-of-54 (63%) of their shots from the floor against the Golden Bears and an impressive 95% (18-of-19) of their shots from the charity stripe. Saturday's shooting clips were both the second best marks for West Chester this season and WCU's five blocks overall were tied for the most by the squad this year.
Speller's 21 points on Saturday were a team high, while fellow senior
Camden Boehner (Gettysburg, Pa. / Gettysburg) chipped in 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting in the victory.
Mia Hopkins (Pittston, Pa. / Pittston) and
Katherine Fisher (Ruttedge, Pa. / Strath Haven) both logged 15 points against the Golden Bears, with Fisher adding a career-high eight rebounds in 31 minutes played. Off the bench, Bruno recorded 12 points to go along with a team-high five assists and three steals to lead a WCU bench unit that scored 23 points overall on the afternoon.
Rylee Derr paced Kutztown (12-10, 7-9 PSAC) with 15 points and Taylor Thames chipped in 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the loss.
