LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, Pa.- The West Chester women's basketball team (1-2) returned to action on the road at Lincoln (2-1) on Wednesday evening in a non-league tilt as both teams entered play in search of their second victories of the young season. West Chester who entered play outscoring its opponents by nine points in the first half of basketball through its first two games of the season, found itself on the other end of things at the halftime break, as the Golden Rams trailed the Lions by nine heading into the halftime break. Trailing by 11 after the first quarter, West Chester outscored its hosts 51-46 for the remainder of the game but it was not enough to overcome the early deficit in a 67-61 setback.
In the first quarter, West Chester struggled from the field as a collective unit going just 4-of-12 and 2-for-4 from the charity stripe, mustering only 10 points through the opening stanza, which allowed Lincoln to take a 21-10 lead into the second quarter of play.
The second quarter was a much more conventional quarter of basketball for the Golden Rams as the team was 9-of-19 (47.4 %) from the field while also going 1-of-5 from three-point territory and a perfect 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. This improved shooting effort allowed West Chester to outscore its hosts 21-19 to trim the deficit down to just nine points (40-31) heading into the halftime break.
After uncharacteristically scoring just two points in the first half,
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) came alive in the third quarter, scoring nine points in the period to lead all scorers in the frame. This effort also helped West Chester to further cut into the Lincoln lead as the Golden Rams trailed by just seven (55-48) heading into the fourth quarter.
To open the fourth quarter, West Chester and Lincoln traded stops through the first three minutes of the period before Lincoln registered the first made basket of the period with just under seven minutes to play to take a 57-48 lead. Following this make, Johnson quickly countered with a made three of her own to cut the deficit to just six with just over six minutes to play in regulation. West Chester continued to try and mount its comeback as
Alexis Gleason (Clifton Heights, Pa./Msgr. Bonner and Prendergast) cut the deficit to just four, making the score 57-53 with 4:52 to play. With just 20.2 seconds to play, Gleason and Johnson teamed up once again to cut the deficit down to just two points (63-61) in the waning moments of regulation. In the closing seconds, Lincoln hit its free throws to escape with a 67-61 victory.
For the third game in a row, Johnson led all scorers with 18 points in the setback while Gleason added 12 points of her own as the lone other Golden Ram in double figures in the setback.
Bink Redman (York, Pa./William Penn) posted a game-high 10 rebounds in the setback while Johnson led the team in assists and steals with four and three, respectively.
As a unit, West Chester shot 40.6 % (26-of-64) from the field while also going 3-for-18 (16.7 %) from beyond the arc and 75.0 % (6-for-8) from the charity stripe. Additionally, West Chester did end the game with a slim +1 (42-41) edge in the rebounding battle and a corresponding 10-8 advantage in second chance points. The Golden Rams also ended the game with a 25-13 edge in bench points thanks in large part to the 12-point effort by Gleason in her Golden Ram debut.
West Chester will be back in action on Sunday afternoon inside Hollinger Field House against Chestnut Hill with that game set to begin at 1 p.m.
