Spectator Policy
EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa.- The West Chester women's basketball team (4-10, 2-6) continues what is a busy stretch of basketball on Monday evening with a visit to East Stroudsburg for a PSAC East clash beginning at 5:30 p.m.
West Chester enters play with a commanding 79-33 lead in the all-time series vs East Stroudsburg, dating back to the 1960 season when the two programs met for the first time. West Chester has gone 6-4 against the Warriors over the last 10 meetings, although the Golden Rams have lost three in a row vs ESU dating back to the second meeting of the 2018-19 season.
In the final meeting of the 2019-20 season, West Chester traveled to East Stroudsburg for what was also the final game of the season, falling to the Warriors by a final of 51-43. In this contest, West Chester trailed throughout the first quarter but managed to mount a comeback and take a slim lead in the second quarter before taking another lead near the midway point of the third period. Unfortunately, the Golden Rams third-period lead was short-lived as the Warriors were able to answer back, retake the lead, and eventually close the game on a 6-0 run to earn the eight-point season-ending victory.
Justyn Roberts (Harrisburg, Pa./C.D. East) led the Golden Rams in rebounding in this game with a team-best 10 rebounds while also scoring eight points, which was the second-best scoring output on the team, and the best among the 2021-22 returners in the final game of the campaign.
In West Chester's most recent game at Bloomsburg on Saturday afternoon, West Chester continually battled back, erasing multiple first-half and early second-half deficits to send the game to the fourth quarter tied at 41-41. In the early stages of the fourth, West Chester and Bloomsburg traded makes, but the Huskies closed the game on an 18-7 run to earn a 61-50 victory over the upset-minded Golden Rams. In this contest,
Alexa Abbonizio (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) led the way in scoring, pouring in 16 points, while
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame), who struggled from the field, mustering just seven points, led the team in rebounds (7), assists (4), and steals (3).
For Abbonizio, this was another game in what has been a strong string of play for the freshman guard, as Saturday afternoon marked her ninth double-digit scoring performance of the season and her fifth such effort in the last six games (three games in a row, currently) to help lead the Golden Ram offense. On the year, Abbonizio ranks second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.1 points per game while ranking third on the team in rebounding (3.4/G) and assists (1.1/G). Johnson remains the Golden Rams leader in most major statistical categories, averaging a team-best 15.2 points per game while also leading the squad in assists (4.9/G), rebounding (7.2/G), and steals (2.7/G). Saturday's seven-point effort was just the third time this season in which Johnson failed to eclipse the 10-point plateau and the first such performance in 2022, with her last such effort coming at George Washington to conclude the 2021 half of the schedule. Johnson, who enters play on Monday evening ranked eighth in the league in scoring, also ranks third in the PSAC in assists per game while ranking second in the loop in steals per game through the first 14 games of the season.
For its part, East Stroudsburg enters play on Monday evening following its sixth loss in as many tries, this time falling to Gannon by a final of 76-57 to fall to 1-13 overall and remain winless (0-11) in league action. On Saturday afternoon, Gannon jumped out to an early 14-point lead in the first quarter and used this early advantage to hold off a late comeback attempt from the Warriors and roll to the 19-point triumph. Freshman Izzy Vogel registered her first career double-double on Saturday afternoon, ending with 15 points and 12 rebounds in the setback. Despite the loss, Vogel was one of three Warriors in double figures as LIU-Brooklyn transfer Ryan Weise ended with 11 points while Carley Adams came away with 10 points of her own in the setback. As a team, ESU short relatively well from the field and three-point range, ending the night shooting 36.5 % from the floor and 34.8 % from deep while also ending the game with a higher free-throw shooting percentage (73.3 % to 68.4 %).
For the year, Weise has been one of the most consistent options for the Warriors, entering play averaging 10.3 points per game while also ranking second on the team in assists (2.8/G) and leading the squad in steals per game (1.5/G). For her part, Vogel leads the team in rebounding, averaging just north of five rebounds per game while also ranking third on the squad in scoring, averaging 6.9 points per game.
As a team, East Stroudsburg has been relatively inconsistent from the field this year, shooting just 34.0 % on the season and 29.7 % from beyond the arc while also having its issues with ball security, averaging north of 20.0 turnovers per game with a turnover margin of -4.2 on the year.
Following this contest, West Chester will be back in action on Wednesday evening at home against Lock Haven before traveling to Mansfield on Saturday afternoon for the first of a quick two-game road trip to conclude the month of January.
