WASHINGTON-D.C.-The West Chester women's basketball team (3-8) returned to action on Tuesday night for the first time in nine days, on the road at Division I George Washington (7-6). West Chester battled throughout and remained well within striking distance throughout much of the early part of the contest but a third-quarter run by GW and corresponding cold spell by West Chester was too much to overcome in the 64-31 setback.
This was the Golden Rams final non-league game of the year as the Purple and Gold will now shift their attention back to PSAC play with PSAC East play set to start on January 5
th at Kutztown.
After trading baskets to open the game,
Alexa Abbonizio (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) knocked down a corner three off an assist from
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) with 6:14 to play, making the score 6-5 in favor of George Washington and prompting a quick GW timeout. The early timeout had the desired impact for the Colonials as the hosts outscored the Golden Rams 11-4 through the remainder of the frame to carry a 17-9 lead into the second quarter.
GW opened the second quarter in a manner similar to which it concluded the first quarter, scoring a pair of quick baskets to stretch its lead to 12 points (21-9) before
Abby Penjuke (Collegeville, Pa./Methacton) hit a three of her own to make the score 21-12 in favor of the Colonials. Following this basket, Johnson scored the next five points for the Golden Rams, cutting the deficit to just eight (25-17) near the midway point of the second quarter. In the waning moments of the first half, West Chester cut the deficit to as few as seven points but a late scoring run by George Washington allowed the hosts to carry an 11-point (31-20) lead into the halftime break.
Through the first four minutes of the third quarter, West Chester and George Washington each managed just two points as the Colonials held on to an 11-point lead, with the score at 33-22 with six minutes to play in the frame. The third quarter remained a low-scoring affair for both sides as George Washington scored the only other basket of the first 5:48 of the third period to carry a 35-22 lead into the third quarter media timeout. Out of the media timeout, Ty Moore continued to lead the Colonials in the third, hitting two more layups to extend the lead to 39-22, while also being credited with all eight of GW's points to open the third. Sierra Bell hit a pair of free throws with 3:08 to play to extend the lead to 41-22 and become the first Colonial other than Moore to enter the scoring column in the third period. With the Colonials, threatening to claim a 20-point lead late in the third, Head Coach
Kiera Wooden called a timeout with 3:03 to play in the period. In the final moments of the third, George Washington extended its lead to 46-22 to carry a 24-point lead into the fourth.
In the fourth, West Chester and George Washington traded makes throughout much of the early going but it was GW who outscored the Golden Rams 18-9 in the final frame to earn the 64-31 victory.
Johnson led West Chester in scoring with nine points while Abbonizio added six points of her own. Johnson also tied for the team lead in assists with three while Penjuke led the way in rebounding with seven rebounds on the night.
As a team, West Chester shot just 22.0 % (13-of-59) from the field and 23.5 % (4-for-17) from three-point range while also going 1-of-4 from the charity stripe.
George Washington ended the game with a 67-34 advantage in rebounding including a 28-8 edge on the offensive glass, which resulted in a 22-0 advantage in second-chance points.
Overall, West Chester did well defensively, allowing only one GW player to score in double figures as Tyasia Moore ended with 12 points and nine rebounds while Taylor Webster ended as the game's leading rebounder with 13 in the victory.
West Chester also continued its impressive three-point defense, holding George Washington to just 10.5 % shooting from beyond the arc while allowing the Colonials to shoot just 30.7 % (23-of-75) from the field.
West Chester will be back in action next Wednesday evening at Kutztown beginning at 5:30 p.m. as the Golden Rams enter the final week of their six-game road trip.
