WEST CHESTER, Pa.- After matching its longest winning streak since the 2018-19 season with its win at Millersville on Wednesday night, West Chester (12-7, 9-4) will look to make it six in a row against a streaking Bloomsburg (7-10, 5-8) on Saturday afternoon beginning at 2 p.m. Fan's should take note that Saturday's game will begin at 2 p.m. instead of 1 p.m. as Saturday afternoon is also Alumni Day presented by the West Chester University Alumni Association in Hollinger.
Series Information
After dropping each of the last three meetings, West Chester finds itself trailing 45-40 in the all-time series against Bloomsburg. West Chester split the series in 2019-20 before being swept in 2021-22, with the most recent setback coming on February 12th of last year by a 67-55 final. West Chester has picked up just one win over Huskies in the last six meetings, with that victory coming on the road in January 2020.
A year ago, a difficult first-quarter shooting performance doomed the Golden Rams as they fell behind by 11 early after shooting just 21.1 % from the field and not making a single trip to the line in the first half. West Chester stepped up its production down the stretch and outscored the Huskies in the second and fourth quarters of action, but the early deficit was too much to overcome in the setback.
Leah Johnson and
Alexa Abbonizio tied for the team lead in scoring with 12 points each, but the veteran Huskies, led by 18 points from Meghan Corridoni, earned a 67-55 victory over the Golden Rams.
Flock Talk
Looking to run its winning streak to five games in a row and match the squads longest winning streak since the 2018-19 season, West Chester traveled to Millersville on Wednesday night and showed no signs of fatigue despite playing its third game in five days, cruising past the Marauders by a 71-63 final. West Chester never trailed and raced out to an early 10-point lead to start the game, eventually leading 25-13 at the end of the first quarter en route to its fifth league win in a row.
Emily McAteer logged her 10th double-double of the year with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while
Anna McTamney added 22 of her own to help lead West Chester to the road victory.
in addition to her scoring, which is best on the team, averaging 16.2 points per game, McAteer ranks first on the team and third in the league in rebounding, corralling an average of 9.1 rebounds per game with 10 double-doubles on the season, which ranks her second in the PSAC in double-doubles. McAteer is also one of just 15 players in Division II women's basketball and one of four in the Atlantic Region to register 10 or more double-doubles already this season. McAteer's 10th double-double on Wednesday night also matches Johnson's total from a year ago, while with two more, she would tie Mia Hopkins 12 double-doubles from the 2017-18 season.
Scouting Bloomsburg
After a slow start to the season, which saw Bloomsburg go just 2-9 through its first 11 games, the Huskies have caught fire as of late, winning five of the last six entering play on Saturday afternoon. Most recently, Bloomsburg went on the road to defeat Kutztown on Wednesday night, winning by a 66-52 final score, thanks to a second-half, which saw the Huskies outscore the Golden Bears, 41-29 after leading by two at the half. Bloomsburg shot 46.7 % from the field and an even 50.0 % from three while also shooting 87.0 % from the line in the 14-point road victory. Emma Gochnauer turned in a double-double, leading the way with 23 points and 10 rebounds to help pilot the Huskies to their seventh win of the season.
Katie Starr has led the team in scoring and rebounding throughout much of the season, averaging 9.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, while Gochnauer is second on the team in scoring, averaging 8.3 points per game while leading the team in assists (2.1/g) and steals (0.9/g). As a team, Bloomsburg has shot 40.4 % from the field and 35.3 % from beyond the arc on the year; however, the hallmark defense, which has come to be expected from coach Alison Tagliaferri's group, has remained largely the same throughout the year, holding opponents to 38.9 % shooting from the field and 31.1 % from deep. While Bloomsburg has lost the turnover battle throughout much of the year, losing it by an average of 5.3 turnovers per game, the Huskies do enter play with a +2.8 advantage in rebounding margin on the year, averaging 37.3 rebounds per game through 17 games.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action on Wednesday evening vs Kutztown beginning at 5:30 p.m.
