SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.V.- The West Chester women's basketball team (9-19, 4-17) took to the road on Monday night to take on third-seed Shepherd in the first round of the PSAC Tournament. West Chester kept the game close throughout much of the first half, trailing by just seven entering the halftime break but a second-half run by Shepherd allowed the Rams to extend their lead to 17 points and hold for a 61-51 victory over the visiting Golden Rams, bringing West Chester's season to a close.
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) and
Justyn Roberts (Harrisburg, Pa./C.D. East) each ended with double-doubles as Johnson finished with a team-high 12 points and 11 rebounds while Johnson came away with 11 points and 11 rebounds of her own in the setback. Holweg, who helped West Chester win its way into the PSAC Tournament with the comeback victory over East Stroudsburg on Saturday also had a strong conclusion to her Golden Ram career, finishing with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting in the setback.
West Chester took an early lead, going up 8-4 with two minutes to play in the first quarter before Shepherd closed out the frame on a 8-2 run to take a 12-10 lead into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, play remained close as West Chester and Shepherd traded makes with the Rams holding a slim 16-15 lead with 7:34 to play in the first half before eventually stretching its lead to 32-25 heading into the halftime break.
In the first half, Johnson led West Chester in scoring with eight points while
Sarah Holweg (West Pittston, Pa./Wyoming Area) chipped in six points in the opening 20 minutes of basketball.
In the second half, Shepherd built its lead to as many as 17 points (49-32) with 8:42 to play in regulation before West Chester began a comeback effort. West Chester outscored its hosts 19-12 in the final minutes of regulation, but it was not enough for the Golden Rams to come all the way back in the 61-51 victory at Shepherd on Monday evening. This setback brought West Chester's 2021-22 season to a close with an overall record of 9-19 and 7-14 in league play.
After a big day at Mansfield on Saturday, which saw her finish with 34 points, Sydney Clayton turned in another stellar performance, finishing with a game-high 26 points while Abby Beeman and Marley McLaughlin each ended with 14 points each in the victory over the visiting Golden Rams.
As a team, West Chester shot 33.9 % from the field and 30.8 % from deep while also shooting 63.6 % (7-of-11) from beyond the arc in the setback. For its part, Shepherd shot 40.0 % from the field and 33.3 % from deep while also shooting 53.3 % (8-of-15) in the victory.
Thanks in large part to the two double doubles from Johnson and Roberts, West Chester ended the game with a 46-35 edge on the glass, which led to an 11-4 advantage in second-chance points in the setback.
West Chester's bench was also a key for the Golden Rams despite the setback, outscoring 17-3 led by Holweg's 11-point effort.
