PHILADELPHIA, Pa.- The West Chester women's basketball team (1-3) returns to action on Monday evening at Jefferson beginning at 6 p.m., looking to bounce back after suffering an 80-68 loss vs Chestnut Hill at home on November 21
st.
Jefferson and West Chester have extensive history with one another, having met 37 times dating back to 1979. Jefferson holds the lead in the series with a 21-16 lead in the series, while the Rams have captured each of the last three meetings over the Golden Rams in the series. In the last meeting during the 2019-20 season, West Chester fell behind early as Jefferson raced out to a 26-12 lead, but the Golden Rams mounted a comeback, trailing just three (57-54) in the late stages of regulation. Jefferson was able to close the game on a 13-2 run to escape Hollinger with a 70-56 victory over West Chester back on November 17, 2019. Among the Golden Rams returning players in 2021,
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) led the squad in the setback, scoring 10 points while also registering four rebounds, four assists, and four steals in the setback.
Against the Griffins prior to the Thanksgiving Holiday, West Chester led for much of the game, but Chestnut Hill closed the game out on a 14-0 run to escape Hollinger Field House with an 80-68 comeback victory. In this contest, Johnson led the Golden Rams in scoring with a team-high 18 points, while freshman
Morgan Warley (West Chester, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) was second on the team in scoring with a career-high 13 points in the setback. As a team, West Chester outshot Chestnut Hill by a wide margin from the field and from three-point range, shooting 45.6 % from the floor and 53.8 % from range. The key difference-maker for Chestnut Hill in the comeback was its 30-for-32 effort from the charity stripe, outscoring West Chester 30-2 from the line in the victory.
For the year, Johnson remains one of the top offensive weapons in the league as she leads the team and ranks fourth in the loop in points per game, averaging 19.8 per game while also ranking fifth in the league in assists per game averaging 4.8 per contest. On the defensive end, Johnson also remains the league leader in steals per game, averaging 3.3 per contest to give her 13 on the year, which ranks second in the PSAC in total steals to this point in the season. In addition to the threat of Johnson,
Bink Redman (York, Pa./William Penn) (who is also the team's leading rebounder averaging 7.0/G) and
Justyn Roberts (Harrisburg, Pa./C.D. East) rank second and third on the squad in scoring averaging 9.0 and 8.7 points per game.
As a team, West Chester enters play averaging 69.3 points per game, shooting 44.1 % from the field and 33.8 % from three-point range, thanks in large part to a season-best three-point shooting effort in the setback vs Chestnut Hill just over a week ago.
For Jefferson (4-1), the 2021-22 season has already proved to be a historic year for the Rams, led by head coach Tom Shirley, who recently recorded his 800
th career victory in a road victory over another PSAC East foe in Shippensburg. When West Chester visits the Gallagher center on Monday evening, it will be the Rams fourth consecutive game against a team hailing from the PSAC East as Jefferson has already defeated Shippensburg and East Stroudsburg earlier this year while falling to Kutztown for its first and only loss of the campaign.
Last time out for Jefferson, the Rams welcomed East Stroudsburg to the Gallagher Center last Monday evening and cruised past the visiting Warriors by a final of 79-52, thanks in large part to an impressive 50.0 % shooting effort from the field. With just a five-point lead after the first quarter of play, Jefferson outscored its guests by 10 points (23-13) in the second period to carry a commanding 15-point lead into the halftime break. ESU attempted to work back into the game in the third period, scoring a game-high 20 points, but the first-half deficit was too much to overcome in the 27-point setback. Sabria Lytes scored 18 points to lead four players in double figures in the victory, while Cassie Murphy came away with 15 points of her own to help lead the Rams.
For the year, Hailey Meinel has been the Rams leading scorer, averaging 14.6 points per game, while Murphy is second on the team, averaging 12.4 points per game through the first five games of the campaign. Morgan Robinson, who is third on the team in scoring, averaging 9.0 points per contest, also leads the team in rebounding, averaging 7.0 rebounds per game while also leading the team in assists, averaging 7.6 per game. This impressive 7.6 assist per game average also ranks the sophomore guard second in all of Division II in assists per game, trailing only Abby Beeman of Shepherd.
As a team, Jefferson averages just 67.8 points per game; however, Shirley's bunch is a stingy unit defensively, holding opponents to an average of just 60.0 points per game so far this season. From the field, Jefferson is shooting 41.7 % on the season and 29.5 % from three-point range while pulling down an average of 37.2 rebounds per game. The area, which gives the Rams the most separation over their opponents this season is in the turnover battle and points off turnovers, entering play with a +6.8 turnover margin and +6.0 advantage in points off turnovers to open the 2021-22 slate.
Following this contest, West Chester will shift its attention to PSAC play as the Golden Rams will welcome Pitt-Johnstown and IUP to Hollinger Field House on Friday and Saturday night of this weekend, with both games beginning at 5:30 p.m. This will not the the Golden Rams final non-league tilt of the season, however, as the team will travel to face Division I foe George Washington in Washington D.C. on December 28
th to conclude the non-conference schedule.
