West Chester, Pa.— Shippensburg (12-2, 7-1) used a key 10-0 run in the third quarter to erase an eight-point West Chester (7-7, 4-4) lead and top the Golden Rams, 83-70, on Wednesday at Hollinger Fieldhouse. West Chester led by 47-39 early in the third period before the visiting Raiders made their furious comeback.
Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, PA/Plymouth Whitemarsh) led the Golden Rams with 20 points in the game, with 10 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Point guard
Leah Johnson (Columbus, NJ/Notre Dame) had 18 points and 6 assists while
Emily McAteer (Thornton, PA/Garnet Valley) added 14 points and 7 rebounds. High scorer in the contest was Raider senior guard Ariel Jones with 28 points, who topped her average of 23 points per game by hitting four three-pointers and all six of her free throws.
This PSAC battle was a see-saw type game, with lots of ties and lead changes. Momentum changed hands quickly. Shippensburg jumped out to an 8-4 lead early in the first period, but the Golden Rams took the lead at 11-10 on a Johnson three-pointer. A Raider fast break basket and a Jones 3-pointer sent the visitors to a 22-13 advantage with less than two minutes left in the opening quarter. McAteer and McTamney each made late baskets before a long buzzer-beating three pointer by Johnson, the Golden Rams were able to narrow the gap to 22-20 heading into the second quarter.
The second quarter was a strong one for the Golden Rams, with
Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, DE/Padua Academy) joining the scoring. Kozicki had seven points in the session, shooting 3-of-4 from the field, after a scoreless first quarter. A short bank shot and foul on the Raiders earned Kozicki a three-point play and then a Johnson three-pointer from the left wing lifted the Golden Rams to a 32-
30 lead.
Point guards Jones and Johnson put on a scoring display over the next couple of minutes, trading baskets back and forth in the fast-paced second period. It was a tie game at 37-37 with 6 seconds to go in the quarter before Johnson hit her second straight buzzer-beater to end the half. This basket was a two that she swished from the right wing to put West Chester ahead at the half, 39-37. There were 10 ties and seven lead changes in the momentum-shifting first half.
At halftime, Johnson led all scorers with 16 points and McTamney tallied 10 points. Jones topped the Raiders with 14 points on 5 for 11 shooting. West Chester had 12 assists in the half and the Raiders had just six. Both teams shot well from the field, with West Chester hitting 16-of-31 field goal attempts (51.6%) while the Raiders hit 12-of-29 for a 41.4% clip. Shippensburg shot 55.6% from three-point range while the Golden Rams swished 4-of-8 long range shots for a 50% result.
The contest turned in Shippensburg's favor in the third period. West Chester took a 47-39 lead on a McTamney three-pointer but then the tide turned. The Raiders went on a 10-0 run behind Jones and center Lauren Pettis to take a 49-47 lead they would not relinquish. Pettis was a force inside the paint and Jones swished another three-pointer to put the Raiders ahead, 57-49. The quarter ended with the Raiders on top, 62-55, as the visitors outscored WCU in the period, 25-16.
Alexis Abbonizio (Springfield, PA/Springfield) swished a three-pointer midway through the fourth period to bring the Golden Rams within 68-67. But the Raiders tightened their defense and got the ball inside to Pettis to stretch the lead back to 77-67. McAteer completed a nice three-point play to make it 77-70 with a minute left. The Raiders sealed the victory with good foul shooting and earned a hard-fought 83-70 PSAC East win.
West Chester was hurt by 18 turnovers in the game and was outrebounded by the Raiders, 36-31. The Golden Rams cooled off with their 3-point shooting in the second half, finishing 6 of 17 for 35% while shooting 48.3 % (29-of-60) from the field in the setback. The Raiders shot 10-of-21 from 3-point land (47.6%) and 43.3 % (26-of-60), while also sinking 21-of-24 free throws (87.5%). West Chester shot only 7 free throws in the game, making 6 for 85.7% shooting.
West Chester ended the game with a 36-26 lead in points in the paint while Shippensburg finished the contest with a 20-13 lead in points off turnovers and an 11-2 lead in fast break points.
Up Next:
West Chester is back in action on Saturday afternoon at Clarion for a 1 p.m. tip.
