WEST CHESTER, PA –
Kyra Jefferson's (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) jumper from the corner at the buzzer fell short as No. 10 Indiana (Pa.) escaped Hollinger Field House with a 64-62 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) women's basketball contest Saturday evening.
Leah Johnson (Columbus, NJ/Notre Dame) hit a rainbow 3-pointer on West Chester's previous trip down the floor that drew the home team with one, 63-62. The Golden Rams fouled on the inbounds with eight seconds to go, and IUP missed the second of its two shots at the other end. West Chester's
Alexa Abbonizio (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) grabbed the rebound and raced down the court.
West Chester (3-4, 1-1 PSAC) held a 57-52 advantage with 4:35 left in the game. However, IUP (8-0, 2-0) went on a 10-0 run to take a 62-57 lead with one minute left to play. That short spurt was the difference as the Crimson Hawks showed their poise and composure down the stretch by pounding the ball inside for points in the paint. Conversely, the Golden Rams went cold from the field during that stint, missing four attempts from beyond the arc.
West Chester gave IUP fits in the first half racing out to a 20-5 lead by the end of the first quarter. West Chester scored the first 16 points of the game, before IUP got its first bucket with 2:45 to play. The Golden Rams shot 57 percent from the field in the first 10 minutes of the game, including knocking down all four 3-point attempts.
West Chester opened the second quarter with a quick scoring burst as well, which gave the Golden Rams their largest lead of the contest (19) with 9:11 to play. That's when IUP mounted its comeback, cutting the Golden Rams' lead to just six by the break.
In the third period, IUP continued its comeback as the Crimson Hawks took the lead for the first time midway through the third period and stretched their lead to as many as seven with 36 seconds to play but West Chester was able to close the gap to four when Johnson drilled a deep-three at the buzzer to make the score 48-44 heading into the fourth.
Johnson and Abbonizio tied for the team lead in scoring with 15 points each while Jefferson ended with eight points of her own in the setback.
Maya Carter (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin East) led the way in rebounding with eight rebounds on the night.
As a team, West Chester shot 42.3 percent (22-for-52) from the field while going 12-for-24 (50.0 %) from deep and a perfect 6-for-6 from the line in the setback. For IUP, the Crimson Hawks were led by Courtney Alexander who scored 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting and a 5-for-12 effort from three-point range. As a team, the Crimson Hawks shot 41.1 % (23-for-56) from the field while shooting 28.6 % from beyond the arc and 10-of-17 from the line.
IUP, who entered play averaging 73.0 points per game and 24.4 margin of victory through the first seven wins of the year, was held well below its season average in each of these categories, as the Golden Ram defense held them to just 64 points and fell by just two points in a hard-fought PSAC setback.
Despite committing seven more turnovers then the Crimson Hawks (20-13), the Golden Rams nearly tied their visitors for points off turnovers scoring 14 points on the night while surrendering just 17 in the setback.
West Chester travels to Seton Hill next Tuesday for another PSAC crossover. Tip is set for 2:30 p.m.
