MILLERSVILLE, Pa.- West Chester (12-7, 9-4) never trailed and led by as many as 17 late in the first quarter on the way to its fifth win in a row, a decisive 71-63 victory over Millersville (10-9, 5-8) inside Pucillo Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
Playing in its third game in five days, West Chester showed few signs of fatigue on Wednesday evening, jumping out to an early 10-point lead and never looking back as the Golden Rams cruised to the eight-point victory over the Marauders.
Emily McAteer (Thornton, Pa./Garnet Valley) led all scorers with 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting and a 5-for-5 performance from the line to go along with 10 rebounds for her 10
th double-double of the year and
Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) finished with 22 of her own on 9-of-19 shooting and a team-best 4-of-8 from three to lead West Chester to the win.
For the Marauders, La-Shyra Williams led the team in scoring with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while Marin Miller added 11 of her own on 5-o-f13 shooting in the setback.
As a team, West Chester shot 46.6 % (27-of-58) from the field and 5-of-17 (29.4 %) from deep while also going 12-for-16 (75.0 %) from the line while holding its hosts to 41.4 % (24-of-58) shooting from the field and 23.5 % (4-of-147) from three to go along with a 9-for-14 (64.3 %) effort from the line.
West Chester wasted no time building an early lead on Wednesday night, racing out to a 16-6 lead in the first six minutes of action to take a commanding 10-point lead into the first Media timeout. West Chester continued its first-quarter attack down the stretch of the opening period, ending the frame with a 25-13 lead, thanks in part to an impressive 10-point first quarter by McTamney.
Outscoring West Chester 9-5 in the first three-and-a-half minutes of the second quarter, Millersville cut the deficit down to eight (30-22), prompting a quick timeout by the Golden Rams. Back-to-back made threes by McTamney later in the quarter allowed West Chester to stretch its lead back to 13 midway through the frame. West Chester eventually carried a 44-33 lead into the half after a pair of made free throws by
Emily McAteer (Thornton, Pa./Garnet Valley) just before the halftime horn.
McTamney and McAteer led the way for West Chester through the first 20 minutes, finishing with 18 and 17 points each, thanks in part to a 4-of-7 effort from beyond the arc by McTamney as the Golden Rams never trailed in the first half.
The third quarter started slowly for both sides, with the two teams combining to go just 1-of-7 seven from the field in the first four minutes as West Chester held a 46-35 lead with six minutes to play in the third. With under five minutes to play in the third, West Chester knocked down its first field goal of the second half with a jumper by
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) as West Chester led 48-37 with 4:35 to play.
Rachel Conran (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) connected on a deep three to end the third quarter as West Chester carried a 61-47 lead into the fourth.
Millersville opened the fourth on a 7-2 run, holding the Golden Rams to just one made field goal in the first six minutes of the period before McTamney pushed the lead back to 11 with a layup off a feed from McAteer with 3:41 to play. McAteer followed this up with her 10
th rebound of the game and a quick layup down the other end, pushing the score back to 67-54 with three minutes to play, which would be adequate separation for the Golden Rams to hold off a late charge by the Marauders for the Golden Rams fifth win in a row, winning by a 71-63 final.
In the victory, West Chester ended the game with a 35-33 lead on the glass, which led to 13 second-chance points and 34 points in the paint for the Golden Rams. The Millersville bench got the Marauders back into the game late and kept the game reasonably close, outscoring West Chester 29-7, led by the 14-point effort from Williams.
Up Next:
West Chester will be back in action on Saturday afternoon at home against Bloomsburg beginning at 2 p.m. as Saturday will also be Alumni Day inside Hollinger Field House.
