LOCK HAVEN, Pa.- The West Chester women's basketball team (7-17, 5-13) will begin a critical stretch of play on Saturday afternoon as the Golden Rams need to get on a winning streak in order to secure a spot in the PSAC Tournament, beginning on Monday, February 28
th. The Golden Rams first opponent during this important stretch of basketball will be Lock Haven (11-12, 8-11) on Saturday afternoon with the opening tip in that contest set for a 1 p.m. inside Thomas Field House.
SERIES INFORMATION
West Chester and Lock Haven have met 47 times dating back to the 1968-69 season with West Chester winning 34 of those meetings, including the first during the 68-69 season, prevailing by a 59-33 final. West Chester also earned a victory in the most recent meeting between the two Eastern Division rivals, by a 59-53 final score inside Hollinger Field House in January.
In the first meeting of the year against Lock Haven, West Chester raced out to an early lead, holding a 19-2 advantage after the first quarter and a 30-14 edge heading into the halftime break before Lock Haven began its comeback. The fourth quarter is when Lock Haven made its move, outscoring West Chester 30-18 in the final 10 minutes but a 12-of-13 performance from the line by the Golden Rams in the fourth quarter, which was the only time the team went to the line on the night was enough to allow the Purple and Gold to hold for the six-point win.
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) registered her sixth double-double of the year and second of the week with a career-high 27 points and 13 rebounds while
Alexa Abbonizio (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) added 11 points of her own to help bolster the Golden Ram offense.
FLOCK TALK
Aware of the need for a fast start against PSAC East leading Kutztown on Wednesday evening, West Chester did just that, getting out to an early three-point lead and leading 10-8 at the first media timeout with just under five minutes to play before Kutztown took control of the game and cruised to a 75-51 victory over the Golden Rams.
Kyra Jefferson (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) was the lone Golden Ram in double figures with 11 points while
Leah Johnson, finished with six points, seven assists, and eight rebounds in the setback. As a team, West Chester shot 34.9 % from the field and 23.5 % from beyond the arc while going a perfect 3-of-3 from the line.
Johnson who has had an impressive season to be sure, is the only player in the PSAC to rank in the top-10 in scoring (6th-16.4 PPG), rebounding (10
th-7.9/G), assists (3
rd-4.8/G), and steals (1
st-3.0/G). With this impressive versatility has come a number of double-doubles, eight to be exact, which ranks Johnson a tie for seventh in the league in this category with Jasmine Hilton of Mansfield and one double-double behind Jaynelle Robinson of Lock Haven.
Taking an early lead has been key for the Golden Rams this season as five of the Golden Rams seven wins on the year have come after the Golden Rams have held a halftime lead. The team erased a halftime deficit for just the second time this season with a comeback win over Mansfield earlier this month after trailing by as many as 20 in the first half.
A LOOK AT LOCK HAVEN
Hosting Shepherd on Wednesday evening, Lock Haven erased an eight-point halftime deficit in the second half (thanks largely to a 14-6 fourth quarter) and scored the game-winning basket with under 30 seconds to play to shock Shepherd and earn a narrow 56-55 victory. Brooke Lawyer led the team in scoring with 19 points including three made three pointers while Ahnera Parker finished with 15, including two of the biggest points of the night on a layup following a well-executed backdoor cut with 26 seconds to play to lift Lock Haven to the one-point win. As a team, Lock Haven shot 37.5 5 from the field and 23.8% from the line while also shooting a poor 37.5 % from the line but a +17 rebounding advantage allowed the Bald Eagles to escape with the narrow victory.
Parker and Jaynelle Robinson have both been major difference makers for Lock Haven this season, entering play on Saturday with 10 and nine double doubles on the year, respectively as Parker leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.5 points per game along with 8.2 rebounds per game while Robinson leads in rebounding, averaging 11.0 rebounds per game (2nd best in PSAC/1
st in the PSAC East) while ranking third in scoring, averaging 10.4 points per game.
As a team, Lock Haven enters play, averaging 57.1 points per game, having won each of its last three games to improve to 11-12 overall and 8-11 in league play on the season. From the field, Lock Haven is shooting 35.8 % on the year while shooting just 24.2 % from beyond the arc, which was a major key for West Chester in the last meeting between the two teams as the Golden Rams forced the Bald Eagles to settle for a number of shots from beyond the arc to earn the victory. While West Chester has improved its protection of the basketball in recent games, entering with a +0.7 turnover margin, Lock Haven has continued to struggle in this area, averaging 18.3 turnovers per game, which is nearly four more than its opponents.
UP NEXT
West Chester will be back in action on Wednesday evening at Millersville beginning at 5:30 p.m.
