WEST CHESTER, Pa.- West Chester's women's basketball team (6-5, 3-2) used a balanced offensive attack and a fast pace to race past Seton Hill (9-5, 2-3) 90-72, in a Friday afternoon game at Hollinger Fieldhouse.
Leading the way for West Chester were
Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, PA/Plymouth Whitemarsh) and
Leah Johnson (Columbus, NJ/Notre Dame) with 18 points each.
Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, DE/Padua Academy) contributed on offense as well with 17 points and pulled down a game-high 9 rebounds. The Golden Rams outscored Seton Hill 29-21 with hot shooting in the second quarter and led 46-33 at halftime. WCU never looked back and kept a significant lead to the end.
For the visiting Seton Hill Griffins, Alie Seto and Christiane Frye each had 18 points. The Griffins dropped to 2-3 in the PSAC and to 9-5 overall.
As a team, Seton Hill shot just under 40 % from the field, shooting 39.1 % (25-of-64) and 25.0 % (8-of-32) from range while also going 14-of-24 from the line, which proved to be a key factor in the league loss as West Chester outscored them 19-14 at the line, converting on 19-of-27 (70.4 %) from the stripe in the win. For its part, West Chester shot 62.7 % (32-of-51) from the field, including three quarters of shooting north of 50 percent while also shooting 7-of-11 (63.6 %) from three to go along with its 70.4 % effort from the line in the win.
West Chester, with Johnson at the controls, led by only 17-12 after one quarter but pulled away from the Griffins in the second period by making 11 of 12 field goals including 1 for 1 from three- point range. The field goal percentage amounted to a red-hot 91.7 percent. Johnson (16 points and 3 assists) was a big factor for West Chester and McTamney had 13 first half points.
The Golden Rams got off to a slow start in the game, with Seton Hill quickly going up 5-0 and then 7-4. But the Griffin lead was short-lived as Johnson and McTamney collaborated on several nice plays including a full court burst by Johnson to make it 26-12. The faster pace in the second period favored the West Chester's speed and ballhandling. West Chester had 10 turnovers in the first half but forced 13 Seton Hill turnovers with alert defense. WCU also had eight assists and 11 steals in the first half.
Kozicki had a strong first half for West Chester, with eight points, six rebounds, and two assists. Overall, the Golden Rams shot 66.7% (18 of 27) from the field through two quarters. On defense, Kozicki helped trigger the WCU fast break with five steals and Johnson contributed four steals with sticky defense.
Seton Hill kept things tight at 49-37 with 6:20 left in the third period but then the Golden Rams put it in high gear with an 8-0 run. Kozicki scored on a nice pass from
Emily McAteer (Thornton, PA/Garnet Valley), McTamney tallied on a spin move in the lane, and then a steal and lay-up by Johnson pushed the lead to 20 points at 57-37.
Alexis Abbonizio (Springfield, PA/Springfield) dialed up a long 3-pointer to make the score 67-40 near the end of the third period.
Kaziah Ross (Binghamton, NY/Binghamton) subbed in for Johnson and kept the fast pace going for the Golden Rams. Ross handled the ball well and chipped in three points with three assists on the afternoon.
Head Coach
Kiera Wooden rested most of the starters for the final quarter, with the lead at 67-44 after three periods. Abbonizio swished two more 3-pointers to finish with 9 points. In the fourth quarter, West Chester was able to extend its lead to 29, its largest lead of the contest with just under 9:30 to play in regulation en route to the 18-point league victory. These fourth quarter efforts also helped West Chester outscore the Seton Hill bench 24-23.
West Chester outrebounded the Griffins, 35-32, and forced a total of 20 turnovers with one of its best defensive efforts this season. Kozicki finished with six steals while Johnson had five. The Golden Rams also blocked five shots with McTamney blocking two to lead the way in this category. Despite this impressive defensive effort, West Chester ended the game tied with Seton Hill in points off turnovers with 26 each, however, the Golden Rams did end the contest with a 46-28 advantage in points in the paint and a 22-14 advantage in points off the break.
Next up for the Golden Rams is a home game vs. Mansfield next Wednesday, January 4. Tip-off is at 5:30 pm.
