MILLERSVILLE, Pa.- Entering play on Wednesday evening in need of a victory to keep its playoff hopes alive, the West Chester women's basketball team (8-18, 6-14) snapped its losing streak and earned the victory it was searching for, dispatching Millersville (7-19, 6-15) by a final score of 73-53.
While this evening's victory does not secure a playoff spot for the Golden Rams, it does help their chances significantly as the Golden Rams needed a win tonight and a win on Saturday, coupled with losses to end the season by Millersville and Mansfield to earn the six-seed in the PSAC Tournament. West Chester will now shift its attention to a Senior Day matchup vs East Stroudsburg on Saturday afternoon inside Hollinger Field House, knowing that with a win and losses by Millersville (vs Lock Haven) and Mansfield (vs Shepherd) it would make its return to the PSAC Tournament after a one-year absence.
Finding itself tied with Millersville only briefly in the early stages of the first quarter, West Chester never trailed in this must-win contest, as the Golden Rams went wire-to-wire, used a 23-point first quarter and led by as many as 20 in the second half en route to the 73-53 victory. As has been profiled throughout the season, holding an early lead has been crucial for West Chester this season as six of the Golden Rams eight victories on the year have come with West Chester leading after the first half of basketball.
West Chester had four players in double figures led by a team-high 19 points and 14 rebounds from
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) while
Alexa Abbonizio and
Maya Carter each finished with 13 along with a 12-point effort from
Kyra Jefferson (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom).
West Chester turned in a solid shooting effort, shooting 43.9 % from the field and 30.8 % from beyond the arc while also shooting 57.9 % from the line to earn the victory. The Golden Rams also ended the game with a 47-42 advantage in rebounding and a corresponding 12-7 lead in second-chance points in the victory.
After a feeling out period to open the game, West Chester went on a 7-0 run in the first few minutes of the first quarter to take an early lead with 6:55 to play. Millersville countered with a 7-0 run of its own over the next minute and a half, evening the score at 7-7 but this was as close as the Marauders would come to the Golden Rams on the evening as West Chester closed out the first on a 16-6 run, led by eight points from
Alexa Abbonizio (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) to take a 23-13 lead into the second quarter.
In the second, play began in a manner similar to the first quarter as the Golden Rams and Marauders traded stops early before Lauren Lister got the Marauders on the board with the first points of the period with 6:24 to play, cutting the West Chester lead to 23-15. West Chester answered quickly as
Maya Carter (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) hit a jumper with 5:40 to play to restore a 10-point lead. The two sides traded makes throughout the frame but West Chester was able to extend its lead by two points, outscoring Millersville 15-13 to take a 38-26 lead into the halftime break.
In the third quarter, West Chester extended its lead to what was its largest of the game at that point, leading by 20 points (55-35) with 1:53 to play in the third quarter of action. This advantage allowed West Chester to close out the third with a 56-40 lead over the host Marauders. Down the stretch, West Chester never found itself in much trouble, cruising to a 73-53 victory over its hosts.
For Millersville, Lister continued to be a bright spot for the Marauders, finishing as the only player in double figures with 12 points and eight rebounds in the setback. As a team, Millersville shot just 31.3 % from the field and was 1-for-16 from three-point territory, including one stretch in the first quarter, which saw Millersville take and miss four consecutive three-pointers. From the line, West Chester and Millersville turned in similar efforts as the Marauders shot just 57.1 % from the stripe in the setback.
West Chester also ended the game with a 15-10 advantage in turnovers led by a three-steal effort from Johnson, which helped West Chester end the game with a 18-13 advantage in points off turnovers.
West Chester and Millersville traded makes throughout the early stages of the fourth as West Chester maintained an 18-point lead approaching the midway point of the final period of action.
West Chester will be back in action on Saturday afternoon inside Hollinger Field House vs East Stroudsburg beginning at 1 p.m. Fans are encouraged to arrive early as Saturday will also be Senior Day for the Golden Rams with that ceremony beginning at approximately 12:45 p.m.
