SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa.- Despite leading for much of the contest, and trailing no more than three points, the West Chester women's basketball team (3-7, 1-4 PSAC) dropped a heart breaker on the road at Slippery Rock (7-3, 3-2 PSAC) by a final of 57-56.
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) led all scorers with a game-high 20 points as one of three Golden Rams in double figures as
Alexa Abbonizio (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) and
Maya Carter (Harrisburg, Pa./C.D. East) each finished the game in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Johnson ended her day with her second double-double of the week, pulling down 12 rebounds along with five steals and four assists in the setback.
To start the first quarter, West Chester and Slippery Rock traded baskets as the Golden Rams trailed 6-4 with 7:03 to play in the opening frame. Over the next 3:34, West Chester used a balanced attack to outscore the Rock 12-0 led by four points from
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) to take a 16-6 lead with 3:27 to play in the first.
Leading by 10 points, West Chester and Slippery Rock traded baskets through the remainder of the first period, as the Golden Rams carried a 22-12 lead into the second quarter.
Slippery Rock scored five unanswered points to open the second period, cutting the deficit in half (22-17), before Johnson halted the run with a layup to give West Chester a 24-17 with 7:21 to play before halftime. Slippery Rock's early 5-0 run, helped the Rock outscore West Chester 18-13 in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 35-30 heading into the halftime break.
Unimpressed by its hosts second quarter comeback effort, West Chester opened the second half with a 7-2 run to stretch its lead back to 10 points (42-32) before Daeja Quick hit a layup to halt the run and ignite a quick 6-0 Rock run, which allowed them to cut the deficit to 42-38 with four minutes to play in the third quarter. The Rock continued its run and eventually closed the gap to just two points (42-40) with 3:36 to play before
Alexa Abbonizio (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) hit a three off an assist from
Kyra Jefferson (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) to restore a five-point Golden Ram lead with 3:21 to play in the third. Over the final minutes of the third, Slippery Rock outscored West Chester 7-2 to tie the score at 47-47 heading into the fourth.
After a scoreless first two minutes of the fourth quarter, Kennedy Middleton connected on a three-pointer to give Slippery Rock its first lead since there was 7:03 to play in the first quarter, making the score 50-47 in favor of the Rock. An unconventional three-point play by Johnson, hitting one of two technical foul free throws before converting a layup on the ensuing possession, evened the score for West Chester at 50-50 before the Rock reclaimed the lead on a layup by Jamiyah Johnson to make the score 52-50 nearing the midway point of the fourth quarter.
Justyn Roberts (Harrisburg, Pa./C.D. East) made a great cut to the basket and accepted a feed from fellow Harrisburg native
Maya Carter (Harrisburg, Pa./C.D. East) to even the score at 52-52 before Johnson countered with another made layup to restore a 54-52 lead heading into the final media timeout of the contest. Johnson, who was fouled by West Chester's Johnson to trigger the media, sank her free throw to give the Rock a 55-52 lead and tie its largest lead of the game.
With just 2:30 to play, Quick got the line for Slippery Rock but could not convert either of her free throws as the score remained locked at 57-54 in favor of the Rock, and continued a nearly two-minute long scoreless streak between the two squads. With 1:30 to play, Carter snapped the Golden Rams three minute scoreless streak with a layup for her 10
th point of the day, to cut the deficit to just one point (57-56). West Chester attempted a tip in layup as time expired but Isabellah Middleton, who was second on the team in scoring with 11 points, stepped in front to breakup the pass and allow the Rock to escape with a narrow one-point victory on Sunday afternoon.
This is the third game in a row between these two teams in which the game has been decided by one basket or less and the second time in a row that the game has been decided by just one point.
Jamiyah Johnson led the Rock in both scoring and rebounding with a double-double of her own, scoring 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting and 6-for-7 effort at the line, while also pulling in 12 rebounds in the comeback victory.
Despite the setback, West Chester outshot Slippery Rock in all three phases, ending the game with a 35.0 % to 31.3 % advantage in field-goal percentage, a 25.0 % to 23.5 % edge from three-point land, and a 71.4 % to 59.1 % advantage from the line.
Perhaps the deciding factor was Slippery Rock's work on turnovers and subsequent points off these turnovers, ending the game with a +7 (21-14) edge in the turnover battle and a 18-10 lead in points off turnovers as the Rock narrowly escaped with a victory over the upset-minded Golden Rams.
This was West Chester's final PSAC contest of the 2021 half of its schedule. The Golden Rams are not finished with their 2021 slate, however, as the Purple and Gold will return to action on Tuesday, December 28
th at Division I George Washington, with that contest set to begin at 4 p.m.
