EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa.- A career-high 33 points for sophomore guard
Destiny Jefferson (Scranton, Pa./West Scranton) was enough to lead the West Chester University women's basketball team (9-10, 5-6 PSAC) to a hard-fought victory 84-75 over PSAC East rival East Stroudsburg (8-10, 5-6 PSAC).
This victory gives the Golden Rams their fifth win in a row and improves West Chester to 5-1 in 2019.
The Basics:
Final Score: West Chester 84 East Stroudsburg 75
Records: WCU (9-10, 5-6 PSAC), ESU (8-10, 5-6 PSAC)
Location: Koehler Field House-East Stroudsburg, Pa.
How it Happened:
- East Stroudsburg opened the first quarter on a 5-0 run before West Chester answered back with a 10-2 run to claim an early 10-7 lead. The two sides traded baskets from this point, which eventually enabled East Stroudsburg to retake the lead at 16-14 with just under three minutes to play in the opening quarter, however, this lead was short-lived as West Chester answered right back, which allowed the Golden Rams to take a 22-20 lead to the second quarter.
- In the second quarter, the two sides continued to trade baskets as neither team managed to claim a lead larger than five points but thanks to a last-second bucket from Jefferson the Golden Rams held a slim 40-37 lead heading to the halftime break.
- Jefferson began the second half in the same manner that she ended the first half as hitting a layup to run the Golden Rams lead to 42-37 early in the half. A jumper from freshman Zhane Snow (Wilmington, Del./Concord) moments later gave West Chester the largest lead that either side had held throughout the game making the score 44-37, which prompted an East Stroudsburg timeout with 8:08 to play in the third. The Warriors timeout did little to cool off the Golden Rams as they scored the first six points out of the timeout to stretch the lead to 13 at the midway point of the third (50-37). Following the media timeout, the two sides traded baskets, which allowed the Golden Rams to carry a 59-45 lead to the fourth and final quarter of play.
- In the fourth, the two sides continued trading baskets as the Golden Rams maintained their lead to earn the 84-75 victory.
Golden Ram Rundown:
- Jefferson ended the contest as one of four Golden Rams in double-figures with 33 points, which is a new career-high for the sophomore guard and is also the most a Golden Ram has scored in a single game since Kiesha Mack scored 33 opposite Bloomsburg in the 2004 regular season. Jefferson is just the third Golden Ram in the last two seasons to eclipse the 30 point barrier in game as she joined and passed Porscha Speller and Camden Boehner who each eclipsed the 30 point barrier in 2017. This makes Jefferson the first Golden Ram to drop 30 points or more in a PSAC East game since Dallas Ely scored 32 against Shippensburg in February of the 2014 season. 33 points is also the most a Golden Ram has scored in a PSAC East game since Mack's 2004 performance. Additionally, Jefferson's 33 point game is tied for the third most points by any player in a single game in the PSAC and it is the second most scored by a player in the PSAC East trailing only fellow sophomore guard Ariel Jones from Shippensburg who scored 36 in non-conference play against Salem on January 19th.
- Joining Jefferson in double-figures was Gabrielle Troisi (Norristown, Pa./Pope John Paul II) with 15, Madison Torresin (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) with 13, and Justyn Roberts (Harrisburg, Pa./C.D. East) with 11, which sets a new season-high for the sophomore forward.
- In addition to her 15 points, Troisi also ended the game with nine rebounds and six helpers, which were both team-highs for the Golden Rams in the victory.
- As a team, West Chester shot 31-of-57 (54.4 %) from the field while also going 4-for-10 (40.0 %) from beyond the arc. The Golden Rams also shot a solid 18-of-22 (81.8 %) from the charity stripe in the victory. The Golden Rams field goal percentage was their highest percentage of the season while their 81.8 free throw percentage was the team's second highest trailing only their 88.9 % shooting performance in the victory over Millersville.
- West Chester also ended the contest with a commanding 22-11 edge in points off turnovers thanks to a plus-five advantage in turnovers.
- This evening's victory also improves West Chester to a perfect 8-0 when shooting over 37.5 % from the field.
- 84 points is also tied for the Golden Rams second highest offensive output of the season second only to the 88 points West Chester registered against Salem and tied with the 84 point performance in a victory over Lincoln back in November.
For the Warriors:
- Tiffany Lapotsky nearly matched Jefferson's performance as she ended the contest with a new career-high of her own as she scored 30 points in the loss while teammates Marlene Basset and Kaitlyn Swint ended with 11 points and 10 points, respectively.
- As a team, East Stroudsburg shot 31-of-73 (42.5 %) from the field while also going 10-of-28 (35.7 %) from three-point range and a perfect 3-for-3 (100.0 %) from the charity stripe. The Warriors also ended the game with a slim plus-five advantage in rebounding thanks in large part to a 10-rebound performance from Julia Kutz.
Up Next:
West Chester will return to Hollinger Field House on Saturday afternoon to take on Shippensburg with that game scheduled to tip at 2 p.m. Fans are encouraged to wear Gold as this will be the Golden Rams annual Gold Out game as well as alumni day and camper appreciation day.
