GREENSBURG, Pa.- The West Chester women's basketball team (3-4, 1-1 PSAC) is set to return to action on Tuesday afternoon at Seton Hill (6-4, 1-1 PSAC) in a PSAC Crossover clash, with each side entering off a hard-fought loss in their last contest.
For West Chester, this hard-fought loss took the form of a two-point edging by No. 10 IUP, after the Golden Rams buzzer-beater attempt fell off, to allow the highly-ranked Crimson Hawks to escape Hollinger Field House with a 64-62 victory. In this contest, West Chester opened the game with a 16-0 run and used this early momentum to carry a commanding 20-5 lead into the second quarter. In the second, IUP began its comeback effort, outscoring its hosts 43-24 over the course of the second and third quarters to take a 48-44 lead into the fourth quarter. In the fourth, West Chester remained within striking distance throughout the frame and outscored its guests 18-16, but a late cold spell by the Purple and Gold allowed IUP to narrowly earn the victory.
Alexa Abbonizio (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) and
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) tied for the team lead in scoring with 15 points each, while Abbonizio shot an impressive 5-of-8 from three-point land. Johnson registered seven assists and seven rebounds in the setback to lead the team in assists, while
Maya Carter (Harrisburg, Pa./C.D. East) led the team in rebounding with eight rebounds in the contest. As a team, West Chester shot 42.3 % from the field and an even 50.0 % from three-point territory while also holding IUP well under its 73.0 point per game scoring average, which it had entered the game with.
For Seton Hill, the Griffins enter play coming off a late loss of their own, after squandering a first quarter (13-9) and first half (28-26) lead on the road at Kutztown on December 4
th. The Golden Bears held the Griffins to just 10 points in the third and fourth quarters while scoring 17 and 16, respectively, to complete the comeback and roll to an 11-point (59-48) victory. Cheyenne Trest scored 11 points as the lone Griffin in double figures, while Christiane Frye was second on the squad in scoring with nine points in the setback. As a team, Seton Hill shot just 23.5 % (16-for-68) from the field, including a 15.79 % (3-for-15) shooting performance in the third quarter while also shooting 23.1 % (6-for-26) with a 7.69 % (1-for-13) shooting effort from beyond the arc in the second half. Kutztown also outrebounded Seton Hill by a 45-39 margin, thanks in large part to an 11-rebound effort from Rylee Derr, who ended the game with a double-double, as she also scored 31 points in the comeback.
West Chester and Seton Hill enter play on Tuesday afternoon with limited history with one another, having met just four times in their histories, with the Griffins emerging victorious in each of the last two meetings to tie the all-time series at 2-2. The Golden Rams opened the series with back-to-back wins in the 2014-15 and 15-16 seasons before dropping its matchups vs the Griffins in December 2017 and December 2018. In the last two meetings between the two squads, Seton Hill has outscored the Golden Rams 167-142, including an 81-64 victory in the last meeting in Greensburg in 2018.
For the season, Johnson and Abbonizio have been an impressive combination for the Golden Rams, as the elder Johnson leads the team in most major statistical categories, including scoring (16.1 PPG), rebounding (6.1 RPG), assists (5.1 APG), and steals (2.3 SPG) while Abbonizio has also been a threat throughout the season, entering play averaging 10.6 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game. Among the league leaders, Johnson ranks 10
th in scoring while also ranking seventh in steals and second in assists trailing only Abby Beeman of Shepherd, who still leads all of Division II in assists averaging 7.9 per game.
Abby Penjuke (Collegeville, Pa./Methacton) has also proved herself to be a vital addition to the Golden Rams this year, ranking second on the team in rebounding, averaging 4.3 per game while sitting in fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 6.3 points per contest.
As a team, West Chester enters play, averaging 68.0 points per game while shooting 43.2 % from the field and 36.1 % from beyond the arc, entering the eighth game of the 2021-22 campaign. The Golden Rams have upper their productivity from deep by a substantial amount in recent games, shooting north of 30 % from range in three of their last four games, including a 50.0 % effort vs IUP. On the glass, West Chester has been outrebounded by a margin of 5.7 rebounds per game (42.6-36.9); however, the Golden Rams have done a good job of limiting second-chance points throughout the season.
For Seton Hill, Katie Nolan and Frye have been the offensive leaders this season, averaging 14.1 and 9.1 points per game, respectively, while Nolan also leads the squad in rebounding (8.3/G) and blocks (1.0/G). Trest, who led the team in scoring in the Griffins last contest, has had a slow start to the season, averaging just 5.4 points per game while ranking second on the team in assists (2.4/G).
As a team, Seton Hill enters play averaging just 66.8 points per game, but the Griffins have been stout defensively, holding the opposition to an average of only 55.6 points per game, which ranks third-best in the PSAC. Seton Hill has shot 38.8 % from the field on the season while shooting just 29.1 % from beyond the arc and 67.5 % from the line on the year. Seton Hill's opposition is shooting just 34.6 % from the field and 29.7 % from range so far this season; however, the Griffins foes have been successful on the glass, pulling down an average of 40.3 rebounds per game while holding SHU to just 39.6 per contest so far this season.
Following this contest, West Chester will return home for the remainder of the week before heading to the Pittsburgh Area to face Cal (Pa.) and Slippery Rock at 1 p.m. on Saturday the 18
th and Sunday the 19
th.
