WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Following a win on Wednesday evening, which kept its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament hopes alive for another day, the West Chester women's basketball team (8-18, 6-14) enters another must-win game on Saturday afternoon vs East Stroudsburg (4-20, 3-18) as the Golden Rams look to earn a spot in the PSAC Tournament. Saturday will also be Senior Day for the Golden Rams as West Chester will honor its senior class with a special pregame ceremony beginning at approximately 12:45 p.m.
FAN INFORMATION
As a reminder, all spectators, regardless of vaccination status, are required to wear a mask when attending any indoor athletic contests inside Hollinger Field house, the Sturzebecker Health Science Center, or the Graham Natatorium. Masking by all spectators in attendance creates the safest possible atmosphere for the student-athletes, coaches, staff, team representatives, officials, and all other spectators.
In addition to Saturday's senior day festivities, Saturday will also be Rammy's Birthday Celebration, happening from 2-4 p.m. Additionally, Saturday has been designated as a "Purple-Out" game with free t-shirts and rally towels available while supplies last.
SERIES INFORMATION
All-time against East Stroudsburg, West Chester has had the better of the series, going 79-33 vs the Warriors including a victory in the last meeting at East Stroudsburg earlier in the month of January. East Stroudsburg has won three of the last four meetings including each of the last two games inside Hollinger Field house, however, this snapped a streak, which had seen West Chester had won 14 of 16 meetings vs the Warriors from the 2012 season to the 2018-19 season.
Last time they met, Johnson turned in another strong effort, registering her fifth double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Golden Rams to victory. West Chester who went on a 14-4 run early in the first half to extend its lead from three to 12, never trailed and extended its lead to as many as 21 early in the fourth before ESU started its ill-fated comeback attempt. The West Chester defense was at its best on Monday evening, holding the Warriors to just 27 points over the first three quarters of play, in the fourth East Stroudsburg came to life offensively, scoring 26 points to nearly match its scoring output for the entire game to that point but it was not enough to complete the comeback over West Chester. As a team, West Chester shot an impressive 90.9 % from the line and 34.4 % from the field to make up for a three-point shooting performance, which saw the Golden Rams shoot just 13.3 % from beyond the arc.
FLOCK TALK
On Wednesday evening at Millersville, in need of a victory to keep its postseason aspirations alive, the West Chester women's basketball team got just what it needed, in convincing fashion at that, cruising past Millersville by a 73-53 final score. West Chester never trailed in this game, finding itself tied only briefly in the opening minutes before taking a lead, which it would never fully relinquish en route to the wire-to-wire victory over the Marauders.
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) led West Chester in this game, finishing with 19 points and 14 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season and the leading scorer of four Golden Rams in double figures. Freshman
Alexa Abbonizio (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) turned in a strong effort as well, finishing with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, a performance matched by fellow freshman
Maya Carter (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) in the resounding road triumph. As a team, West Chester shot 43.9 % from the field including a solid 47.4 % field goal and 75.0 % three-point shooting effort in the first quarter to get off to a hot start and avoid first-quarter woes of games past in the victory.
Taking an early lead has been key for the Golden Rams this season as six of the Golden Rams eight wins on the year have come after the Golden Rams have held a halftime lead. This trend remained true on Wednesday night as West Chester never trailed, racing out to an early 23-13 lead after the first quarter and never looking back en route to a 73-53 victory.
Following a convincing 20-point win over Millersville on Wednesday night, West Chester has shifted its attention to East Stroudsburg in need of another victory to better its PSAC Tournament chances. West Chester now has two avenues in which it could qualify for the PSAC Tournament on Saturday. If West Chester wins and Mansfield loses, West Chester qualifies with seven victories. Alternatively, if West Chester, Millersville, and Mansfield all win or lose (must be same result for all three teams) West Chester wins the tiebreak 3-1 in the head-to-head-to-head. The only scenario in which West Chester would not qualify for the Tournament with a win on Saturday would be if Mansfield also wins and Millersville loses, creating a tie between West Chester and Mansfield, which Mansfield would win on a tiebreak.
SCOUTING EAST STROUDSBURG
East Stroudsburg enters play coming off a win of its own as Ryan Weise hit back-to-back three pointers in the closing seconds, including the game winner with 0.7 seconds to play to earn a 59-56 comeback victory over Lock Haven. East Stroudsburg led for much of the contest, holding a lead at the end of each of the first three quarters of play before Lock Haven rallied in the fourth to force overtime. In the extra session, it appeared as if Lock Haven might escape with the comeback victory, leading by three with 17 seconds to play but Weise had other ideas, hitting a pair of threes in the final 17 seconds of regulation to give ESU an OT victory, and its third league win of the season. The grad transfer from Division I LIU-Brooklyn did what she has done for much of the season, leading all scorers with 21 points, including five threes to go along with a team-high seven assists in the comeback. As a team, East Stroudsburg shot 34.4 % from the field and 47.1 % from range while also shooting a solid 77.8 % from the line in the victory.
Weise has been the catalyst for the 4-20 Warriors throughout the season, leading the team in scoring, averaging 12.5 points per game while ranking second on the team in rebounding, averaging 4.4 per game and leading the squad in assists (3.9/G) and steals (2.0/G) in what has been a challenging season for East Stroudsburg. Points have come at something of a premium for ESU this season, as the Warriors enter play averaging just 50.5 points per game, with Weise being the lone player averaging in double figures for the youthful Warriors.
UP NEXT
In order to extend its season, West Chester will need a win on Saturday coupled with other results around the PSAC to earn the sixth seed in the upcoming PSAC Tournament. Should this happen, West Chester will be back in action on Monday evening at Shepherd who clinched the third seed in the PSAC Tournament earlier this week.
