WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Following a big non-league victory over regionally-ranked Jefferson to conclude its November slate, the West Chester women's basketball team (2-3) returns home this weekend for a pair of PSAC Crossover games, hosting Pitt-Johnstown (2-3) this evening beginning at 5:30 and No. 10 IUP (6-0) on Saturday night at 5:30 p.m.
Fan Information
Each game this weekend will bring with it a special event for Golden Ram fans to be aware of, with Friday night being a doubleheader in honor of Antoine Lewis Jr. while Saturday night is scheduled as a "Gold Out". On Friday evening, prior to its game vs Pitt-Johnstown, West Chester will conduct a moment of silence in honor of the life and legacy of West Chester men's basketball player-Antoine Lewis Jr., who tragically passed away around this time a year ago. Lewis Jr. was a member of the historic 2019-20 West Chester team, appearing in 29 games and averaging 5.5 points and 1.6 rebounds per game. Fans are encouraged to stay for a full ceremony prior to the beginning of the men's game, which will include a memorial message, moment of silence, words from Lewis's family, and the placing of his Purple #5 jersey on the end of the Golden Ram bench where it will remain throughout the 2021-22 season.
On Saturday evening, fans are encouraged to wear gold to support the Golden Rams and create a "Gold Out" atmosphere when they come out to support the West Chester women's and men's basketball teams in their battles vs nationally-ranked IUP.
The Series
West Chester has had mixed success in its history vs Pitt-Johnstown, winning just four of the 18 meetings between the two squads. Recent history, however, has been more favorable for the Golden Rams as the team has won each of the last two meetings and three of the previous four, including a 64-52 victory at home during the 2018-19 season. Against IUP, the Crimson Hawks hold a 6-2 edge in the series against the Golden Rams since the 2011-12 season. Overall, the two teams have met 13 times in their histories, with IUP holding an 8-5 edge in the all-time series.
Crossover games vs the PSAC West first counted in the PSAC standings in the 2011-12 season, and West Chester enters play with a record of 20-29 (40. 8 %) in such games. Recent times have proved challenging for the Purple and Gold as the team is just 2-10 vs Western Division foes over the last two seasons (one win in each season).
Flock Talk
West Chester bounced back from a frustrating loss vs Chestnut Hill on the Sunday before Thanksgiving in a big way on Monday evening, dismantling perennial-power Jefferson on the road en route to a 75-61 triumph.
Alexa Abbonizio scored with a game-high 15 points (just one point shy of her career-high), while
Leah Johnson registered her first career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds in the win. West Chester trailed only once and for a total of just 16 seconds en route to the 14-point win, leading by as many as 24 points in the win. As a team, West Chester shot a respectable 41.3 % from the field and 34.8 % from beyond the arc en route to its second victory of the season.
On the year, Johnson remains the Golden Rams leader in most major statistical categories, leading the way in scoring, averaging 18.6 points per game while also leading the team in assists (5.0/G) and steals (3.2/G). These numbers rank Johnson sixth in the league in scoring while also ranking fourth in the PSAC in assists and second in the loop in steals entering a pair of big league games this weekend. Abbonizio has also made a significant impact during her rookie year, ranking second on the team in scoring, averaging 9.6 points per game, while ranking third on the team in assists averaging 2.0 per game. The freshman has also led the team in scoring twice already this season, with both instances ending in victory for the Golden Rams.
As a team, West Chester is averaging 70.4 points per game and surrendering an average of 72.8, which does rank among near the bottom of the PSAC in scoring defense. Despite this statistic, West Chester has managed to outshoot its opponents from the field (43.5 % vs 38.9 %) and from three-point range (34.0 % vs 22.0 %). However, West Chester has been consistently outrebounded this season, entering play with a -9.6 (45.8-36.2) rebounding margin, which provides opposing teams ample opportunities for second-chance points.
Scouting Pitt-Johnstown
Pitt-Johnstown enters play this evening, coming off a 88-54 loss at the hands of No. 10 Glenville State after edging out PSAC East rival Bloomsburg (51-46) on Saturday, November 20th. Recently, Pitt-Johnstown dropped two of its last three games after also falling to West Virginia State on November 17th. In its last game, Pitt-Johnstown scored 27 points in each half, led by a pair of 15-point performances from Makalyn Clapper and Ashley Norling, who were both 6-of-10 from the field in the setback. Peyton Alazus was the third and final Mountain Cat to reach double figures, scoring 13 points and coming away with a team-high nine rebounds, narrowly missing a double-double.
For the year, Ashland transfer Cassidy Crawford has been the Mountain Cats leader in most major categories, averaging 12.8 points per game while also leading the team in rebounding (7.5/G) and ranking second on the squad in assists (2.0/G) and steals (1.3/G). Norling, who was one of the Mountain Cats leading scorers against Glenville State, ranks second on the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 10.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game to this point in the season.
As a team, Pitt-Johnstown is averaging just 55.4 points per game and shooting 33.6 % from the field through its first five games of the season. Picked to finish seventh in the PSAC West, the Mountain Cats are also shooting just 21.1 % from beyond the arc and being outrebounded by a -3.8 margin (39.6-35.8) on the year. The team is also averaging 3.6 more turnovers per game than its opponents, committing an average of 19.8 per game so far this season.
Scouting IUP
Perennial power, IUP enters the weekend ranked 10
th in the Nation in both the media (D2SIDA) and Coaches (WBCA) polls boasting a perfect 6-0 record with a win over Ohio Dominican on November 18
th to conclude its month of November. Prior to visiting Hollinger Field House, IUP will travel to Keystone Arena in Kutztown, Pa. to do battle vs the 6-2 Kutztown Golden Bears who enter the weekend with a five-game winning streak.
Against Ohio Dominican, senior guard Courtney Alexander, who was averaging just 10.0 points per game, tallied a career-high 24 points while also sinking a season-best five three-pointers to lead the team, while freshman Gina Adams registered her first career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Ninth-year head coach Tom McConnell's (182-41 at IUP) group shot an impressive 59.3 % in the second half and finished with a +11 rebounding margin en route to the victory.
Under McConnell's tutelage, IUp has won each of its PSAC openers dating back to the 2011-12 season and has swept five consecutive PSAC East-West crossover weekends heading into play this evening.
Justina Mascaro ranks as the Crimson Hawks leading scorer entering the weekend, averaging 14.2 points per game, while Adams is the team's leading rebounder to start her Crimson Hawk career averaging 7.8 rebounds per contest. Mascaro has led the Crimson Hawks in scoring three times already this season, while Adams is tied with redshirt-senior Maura D'Anna for the single-game rebounding lead as they have each led the team three times this season.
As a team, IUP has held opponents under 50 points four times already this season and ranks sixth in Division II in scoring defense, surrendering an average of just 47.8 points per game. Offensively, IUP is averaging 73.8 points per game and shooting 46.9 % from the field; however, the Crimson Hawks are shooting just 26.8 % from beyond the arc. They make up for this poor three-point shooting with an impressive +15.8 rebounding advantage while also entering play with +1.1 turnover margin through the first six games of the season.
Up Next
Each game this weekend is scheduled to tip at 5:30 p.m., with the men's games to follow at 7:30 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday evening's as these will be the final home games of the 2021 half of the schedule for the Golden Rams. The team will not be in action at all next week but will return to the court on Tuesday, December 14
th at Seton Hill in a rare midweek matinee, with opening tip set for 2:30 p.m. in Greensburg.
