PHILADELPHIA, Pa.- Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua Academy) scored a career-high 18 points as one of a trio of Golden Ram newcomers in double figures to lead West Chester (1-2) past Chestnut Hill (2-2) by a 57-53 final on Sunday afternoon inside Sorgenti Arena in Philadelphia.
Kozicki shot a team-best 8-of-14 from the field on Sunday afternoon while fellow transfers
Emily McAteer (Thortnon, Pa./Garnet Valley) and Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) each added 12 points of their own on 5-of-9 and 5-of-8 shooting from the field, respectively.
Kozicki and McAteer each registered double-doubles, finishing the game with 10 rebounds.
The game, was similar to the meeting from last year as it was tight throughout, featuring four ties and seven lead changes with both teams holding six point leads as their largest leads of the game in the first (WCU) and third (CHC) periods, respectively.
As a team, West Chester shot 43. 6 % (24-of-55) from the field and 33.3 % (4-of-12) from three-point range while also going 5-for-10 from the line to earn its first victory of the year. For its part, Chestnut Hill shot just 35.8 % (19-of-53) from the field and 26.3 % (5-of-19) from three, while once again going to the line almost twice as often as the Golden Rams, however, the Griffins only cashed in on 10 of 18 attempts from the stripe in their second setback in as many games.
With this win, West Chester avoid its first 0-3 start to the year since the 2006-07 campaign, which saw the Golden Rams finish that year with a record of 15-13 and an appearance in the PSAC Tournament.
In the first quarter, West Chester surged out to an early 5-2 lead, before eventually taking what would be its largest lead of the contest late in the first quarter following a made jumper by
Maya Carter (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt), which made the score 12-6 in favor of West Chester heading into the second quarter.
Chestnut Hill opened the second with a 5-0 run, which closed the Golden Ram lead to 12-11 before a McAteer jumper, one of her five makes on the game restored a three-point cushion for the Golden Rams with just under seven minutes to play in the half. Things remained tight down the stretch of the first half as Chestnut Hill continued to fight back, eventually taking its first lead of the game later in the period before a late McAteer layup with 1:12 to play before the break, gave West Chester a narrow 21-20 lead, which held heading into the half.
The third quarter remained a back-and-forth affair between the two non-league rivals but eventually Chestnut Hill found a way to take its largest lead of the game at 41-35 late in the third, heading into the fourth.
West Chester took little time to dismantle the early Chestnut Hill lead in the fourth, opening with a 9-0 run, thanks in large part to seven points from Kozicki, thus, giving West Chester a 44-41 lead. Chestnut Hill answered quickly with a three-pointer that evened the score with 6:58 to play. The lead changed hands three times over the next five minutes until Chestnut Hill held a 52-48 lead with 1:45 to play in regulation. Kozicki and West Chester went to work from this point, cutting into the deficit quickly thanks to a three-point spurt by Kozicki, which cut the deficit to one before McTamney gave West Chester the 53-52 lead with 1:25 to play on a fastbreak layup.
Kozicki scored again with 20 seconds to go to make it a three-point lead before
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) hit a pair of free throws with five seconds to go, giving her six points on the night to help West Chester hold on for the 57-53 victory.
In addition to her six points, including a pair of crucial points late, Johnson also finished with a eight rebounds and a team-best five assists.
West Chester ended the game with a 40-30 advantage in rebounding, which helped lead to a 32-26 lead in points in the paint along while also ending the game with seven second-chance points in the victory.
Up Next:
West Chester will be back in action next Saturday afternoon in its long awaited home opener vs Jefferson beginning at 1 p.m. inside Hollinger Field House.
