WILMINGTON, Del.- Emily McAteer (Thornton, Pa./Garnet Valley) scored a career-high 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting as one of three Golden Rams in double figures, to help the West Chester women's basketball team (5-3) cruise past Wilmington (0-9) on Sunday afternoon by a 97-46 final, marking the largest margin of victory in head coach
Kiera Wooden's tenure at the helm of the Golden Rams.
Sunday's victory, which concluded non-league play for West Chester and helped the Golden Rams improve to 4-1 over its last five and 5-1 over the last six after dropping two in a row to open the season, was an impressive win for the Golden Rams as all 14 players who logged minutes also scored while McAteer (25),
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) (16), and
Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua) (14) led the way in double figures.
West Chester who never trailed, led by 13 at the end of the first quarter and held a 20-point lead at the half before continuing to stretch its advantage, eventually leading by as many as 51 in the dominant victory. As impressive as the Golden Ram offense was throughout the afternoon, the Golden Ram defense was also stifling at times, with this being most noticeable in the third quarter, which saw West Chester outscore its hosts 27-4, as Wilmington made just one field goal, a three-pointer with 6:20 to play in the frame before splitting a trip to the line later in the frame in what was an impressive defensive effort.
After a difficult shooting performance in the setback vs Lincoln on Thursday night, which was the team's final home game until December 30
th vs Seton Hill, West Chester bounced back with an impressive 56.3 % (40-of-71) effort from the field on Sunday afternoon, with 9-of-12 and 8-of-12 efforts from the field from McAteer and Johnson. West Chester also made eight three's on Sunday afternoon, setting a new season-high from deep, led by a stellar 4-of-6 shooting effort from three-point land by McAteer.
West Chester also committed just nine turnovers while forcing its hosts into 30, which led to a 41-9 lead in points off turnovers, marking the most points the Golden Rams have scored off such plays this season. WCU also ended the game with a commanding 21-2 lead in second chance points after winning the rebounding battle, 35-27 while also ending the game with a 48-4 lead in points in the paint and a 33-5 lead in points off the bench en route to the historic victory.
Johnson tied with Warley for the team lead in steals with three each while also tying with Kozicki for the team lead in assists with four each. McAteer and reigning PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week,
Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) tied for the team lead in rebounding, registering five rebounds each in the non-league victory.
Amber Washington did her part to try and help her team hang around on Sunday afternoon, finishing with 15 points but she was the lone player in double figures as the Wildcats were unable to keep pace with the high-powered Golden Rams. Fatou Ndao, nearly registered a double-double, finishing with nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds but she also committed 10 costly turnovers, which West Chester capitalized on throughout the afternoon.
Up Next:
West Chester will have some time to enjoy this afternoon's dominant victory as the Golden Rams do not return to the court again for a week when they venture to the PSAC West for the final two-game crossover weekend of the year against Pitt-Johnstown on Sunday evening before visiting with IUP on Monday the 19
th in the final game before the Holiday Break. After the Holiday Break concludes, West Chester will return home on December 30
th to host Seton Hill beginning at 3:30 p.m. before beginning PSAC East play at home vs Mansfield on January 4
th.
