WEST CHESTER, PA—Following a win a night ago over Mercyhurst in the PSAC opener, West Chester (4-2, 2-0) returned to action on Saturday night in its second game vs a nationally-ranked foe in the last three games this time squaring off against #15/8 Gannon (6-2, 0-2). West Chester earned its second win in a row over a ranked foe, dispatching Gannon by a 72-66 final behind four players in double figures led by 19 points from
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame).
This victory was the Golden Rams fourth straight win and second over a Nationally-ranked opponent in that same span while Gannon, who was unbeaten entering the weekend fell to 6-2 on the year and 0-2 in league action.
Tonight's was a classic match-up between a powerful offensive team (West Chester) and a stingy defensive squad (Gannon). The Golden Rams entered the contest averaging over 80 points a game while the Golden Knights were holding their opponents to less than 54 points per outing. On this night, offense ruled with the Rams making key foul shots in the fourth quarter to seal the tight win.
West Chester got excellent balanced scoring, with four players hitting double figures, Johnson led the way with 19 points and 11 rebounds finishing with a double-double while coming up just one assist shy of a triple double over the course of her 40 minutes vs the vaulted Golden Knight defense.
Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, DE/Padua Academy) also produced a double-double for the Golden Rams with 15 points and 11 rebounds. She was 9-14 from the free throw stripe, making big ones when the game got close in the final minutes.
Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, PA/Plymouth Whitemarsh) tallied 14 points and
Alexa Abbonizio (Springfield, PA/Springfield) was a big contributor off the bench for the Rams with 13 points and four rebounds. Abbonizio showed off her long-range shooting skills by going 3-of-4 from beyond the arc to help lead West Chester in the victory.
The Golden Knights of Gannon jumped out to an early 9-4 lead in the first period behind Emma Wright and Samantha Pirosko. But the Golden Rams battled back to take a 15-14 lead at the end of one quarter, thanks to a fast break layup by Kozicki and a left corner jumper from Johnson. The one point margin was surprising since West Chester shot just 7-19 in the quarter, hitting only 1 for 5 from three point range.
Abbonizio gave the Golden Rams a big boost in the second quarter by swishing a pair of 3-pointers from deep range, taking the lead to 32-26. West Chester led by 36-32 with less than two minutes left in the half before eventually carrying a 37-35 lead into the half.
West Chester grabbed a 40-35 advantage early in the third period but the Knights turned up the defensive pressure and tied the score at 40-40 following a Maddy Wheatley 3-pointer. The third quarter remained tight but it was West Chester who was able to hold on to its lead, carrying a 51-47 advantage into the fourth.
The final period was exciting and played at a frantic pace. A McTamney drive and another three-pointer by Abbonizio pushed the Ram lead up to 60-53. But the Golden Knights never quit and Pirosko produced a 3-point play to cut the margin to 60-59 with less than three minutes left. Abbonizio drained all three free throws after being fouled on a 3-pointer and then McTamney scored on a nice assist from Johnson to make it 66-61 at the one minute mark. The Golden Knights cut it to 68-66 on a Wheatley 3-pointer, making things tense for the Golden Rams, but in the final seconds, McTamney hit two clutch free throws and Johnson also canned a pair from the line, making the final score 72-66 West Chester.
Overall, the Golden Rams shot just 23-of-66 (34.8 %) from the field, including 5-of-18 from three-point range. Gannon ended the contest shooting 39.1 % (25-of-64) from the field and 8-of-24 (33.3 %) from beyond the arc while also going 8-for-15 from the line in the setback. Wheatley led the Golden Knights in scoring, finishing with 17 points on a team-best 6-of-9 shooting from the field but it was not enough to avoid the upset loss.
West Chester outrebounded the Golden Knights, 49-41, which led to nine second-chance points and forced Gannon into 14 turnovers, which resulted in 19 points off turnovers for the Purple and Gold. The Gannon defense, which was tight throughout the night seemed to do little to faze the Golden Rams as West Chester committed a season-low nine turnovers in the victory.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action on Thursday night vs Lincoln beginning at 5:30 p.m. in what will be the final game of the homestand. West Chester will not return to action in PSAC play until December 18
th at Pitt-Johnstown.
