WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Seeking to avenge an overtime loss at Mansfield (6-14, 5-11) earlier in the year, the West Chester women's basketball team (7-13, 5-9 PSAC) erased a first-half deficit to earn a 74-63 comeback victory over the visiting Mounties and halt a three-game losing streak.
In the first quarter, West Chester took an early lead, leading by as many as four points halfway through the frame before Mansfield closed the period on an 11-0 run to take a 15-8 lead into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, Mansfield continued to extend its lead, leading by as many as 20 points with 4:39 to play in the half before West Chester started to cut into the deficit late in the half, trading baskets with Mansfield down the stretch to trail 35-23 at the halftime break.
In the first half, West Chester shot just 24.1 % from the field and 33.3 % (3-of-9) from beyond the arc but was a perfect 6-of-6 from the line to keep the game within striking distance heading into the second half of play.
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) led West Chester in scoring with 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting while Logan Nutt led the way for Mansfield with 11 points on an impressive 5-of-6 shooting.
Out of the halftime break, West Chester outscored its guests 28-14 in the third period capped off by a three-pointer at the buzzer from
Bink Redman (York, Pa./William Penn) to erase the deficit and put West Chester in front 51-49 heading into the fourth quarter. Redman, Johnson and
Justyn Roberts (Harrisburg, Pa./C.D. East) all chipped in seven points in the third period to help West Chester erase its 20-point first half deficit and take a lead into the fourth quarter.
After a carrying a slim two-point lead into the fourth quarter, West Chester and Mansfield traded baskets through the first five and a half minutes of the frame, each team scoring eight points as West Chester held a slim 59-57 lead with 4:23 to play. Down the stretch, West Chester outscored its guests 15-6 over the final four and a half minutes of play to escape with a 74-63 comeback victory over Mansfield to earn a split in the season series.
Johnson, who ended the game with a career-high 31 points thanks in large part to a 14-point effort in the final period of play, scoring 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting down the stretch to help lead West Chester to the victory. Johnson narrowly missed a double-double finishing with nine points, six steals, and three assists in the comeback win.
Roberts also ended in double figures, finishing with 15 points while
Tacari Talford (Robesonia, Pa./Conrad Weiser) finished with eight points, including seven points in the third quarter comeback on 3-of-4 shooting from the field during that frame.
West Chester ended the game with a 37-34 (+3) advantage in rebounding thanks in part to a 14-10 advantage on the offensive glass. This offensive rebounding edge allowed West Chester to end the game with a 16-12 advantage in second-chance points while also ending the game with a 23-8 edge in fast-break points in the comeback win. West Chester also ended the game with a 30-28 edge in bench points while Mansfield ended the game with a 21-20 advantage in points off turnovers and a 38-26 edge in points in the paint.
For Mansfield, Logan Nutt, who finished with 11 points in the first half ended the game as Mansfield's leading scorer with 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting while Alivia Paeglow finished with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field as one of two Mountaineer players in double figures.
Mansfield ended the game with a 46.4 % field-goal percentage and a 33.3 % three-point shooting percentage and 50.0 % (5-of-10) free-throw shooting performance in the setback.
After a difficult first-half shooting performance, West Chester was a much-improved shooting team in the second half, shooting 19-of-34 from the field and 4-for-10 (40.0 %) from deep while continuing its strong free-throw shooting effort, finishing the game with an 88.2 % free-throw shooting percentage in the comeback.
West Chester will be back in action on Wednesday evening at Shippensburg beginning at 6 p.m.
