WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Looking to earn its sixth win in a row and set its longest winning streak since the 2017-18 season, the West Chester University women's basketball team (13-7, 10-4) returned home on Saturday afternoon to host Bloomsburg (7-11, 5-9). West Chester trailed only briefly, trailing just 23 seconds en route to a convincing 66-56 victory over Bloomsburg on Saturday afternoon.
Prior to today's game, West Chester honored junior guard
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) in a special pre-game ceremony in recognition of her 1,000
th career point, which she scored earlier in January at East Stroudsburg with an impressive 21-point performance to, lead West Chester past the Warriors.
Johnson led all scorers with 21 points on 9-of-19 shooting to go along with eight assists and five rebounds.
Emily McAteer (Thornton, Pa./Garnet Valley) finished with 15, including a handful of crucial late baskets down the stretch, while
Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) added 11 of her own in the victory. West Chester shot well in the win, shooting 47.3 % (26-of-55) from the field and 81.3 % (13-of-16) from the line while going 1-of-4 (25.0 %) from three in the win.
For Bloomsburg, Emma Gochnauer led a trio of Huskies in double figures with 17 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field and a 9-for-13 effort from the line. Gochnauer hit nine of the Huskies 15 free throws in the loss as Bloomsburg shot just 15-of-22 from the stripe while also going 19-of-43 (44.2 %) from the field and 3-of-12 (25.0 %) from three-point range.
West Chester led throughout much of the first half, getting out to an early six-point lead midway through the first quarter before Bloomsburg rallied back to hold a slim two-point lead with 1:58 to play in the opening frame after a made three. Trailing 16-14 with under two minutes to play after finding itself on the wrong end of an 8-0 Bloomsburg run, West Chester closed out the first on a 5-0 run to take a 19-16 lead into the second.
In the second, with a three-point lead intact, West Chester put together an impressive performance, which saw the lead expand from just three at the break to as many as 11 (33-22) late in the half. Bloomsburg scored the final points of the first half with a Katelin Starr layup for her fourth points of the half to trim the deficit to 33-25 heading into the halftime break.
Johnson led the way with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, while Emma Gochnauer led the Huskies in scoring with six points and two rebounds through the first 20 minutes of basketball despite playing under 12 minutes of those 20 minutes.
West Chester did not make a three in the first half but shot 43.3 % (13-of-30) from the field and was an impressive 7-for-8 from the line while holding its guests to 42.9 % (9-of-21) shooting from the field, 33.3 % (2-of-6) from deep and 5-for-9 (55.6 %) from the line in the opening 20 minutes.
Early in the second half, West Chester stretched its lead back out to 10 points (41-31) before a quick 5-0 run by Bloomsburg cut it down to 41-36 and prompted a WCU timeout with 4:22 remaining in the third. West Chester ended the third outscoring Bloomsburg 8-3 to take a 49-39 lead into the fourth quarter.
Bloomsburg looked to make a late comeback in the fourth once again, continuing a recurring theme throughout the game, but West Chester continued to withstand the Husky attack, eventually leading by as many as 12 midway through the fourth en route to a 66-56 victory on Saturday afternoon.
West Chester ended the game with a slim 31-28 lead on the glass, which resulted in eight second-chance points and a 40-22 lead in points in the paint. West Chester also ended the game with a 25-13 lead in points off turnovers, a 17-2 lead in points off the break, and a 13-8 lead in points off the bench, led by eight points from
Alexa Abbonizio (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) and five more from fellow Springfield native
Rachel Conran (Springfield, Pa./Springfield).
This win gives West Chester its longest winning streak since the 2018-18 season when the Golden Rams completed an unbeaten run through PSAC East play, winning the PSAC East Regular Season title and advancing to the NCAA Tournament in Richmond, Virginia, at the end of that season.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action on Wednesday night at home against Kutztown beginning at 5:30 p.m.
