KUTZTOWN, Pa.- Riding a two-game winning streak in league play, including an East opening win over Mansfield on Wednesday night, the West Chester women's basketball team (7-6, 4-3) returned to action at Kutztown (6-7,4-3) on Saturday afternoon, falling to the host Golden Bears by a 73-57 final after a strong second-half effort by Kutztown
Fresh off registering the fourth triple-double in school history in the win on Wednesday night,
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) played well once again for the Golden Rams, finishing with 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting while also coming away with a team-high seven rebounds and six assists in the setback.
Emily McAteer (Thornton, Pa./Garnet Valley) finished with 19 points and six rebounds, while
Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) chipped in 14 of her own in the setback.
West Chester trailed early but put together a solid second quarter, which saw the Golden Ram outscore their hosts 18-11 on the period, including a 10-0 run early in the frame to erase a six-point first-quarter deficit and carry a 33-32 lead into the halftime break.
Out of the break, West Chester retained its lead through the early going, stretching the advantage to as many as six points with 5:53 to play in the third and holding a 39-38 lead with 3:03 to play in the period, which would be the Golden Rams final lead of the afternoon. Kutztown ended the third outscoring West Chester 25-14 on the period before opening the fourth on a 17-8 run through the first seven-and-a-half minutes to take a 68-49 lead over the Golden Rams with under 2:30 to play in regulation. Kutztown went 3-of-4 from beyond the arc down the the stretch, which allowed the Golden Bears to extend their lead to as many as 20 points with 1:07 to play en route to the 16-point (73-57) home win over the Golden Rams.
Zara Zerman led Kutztown in scoring with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including a 3-for-6 effort from deep, while Naia Pulliam finished with 16, and Casey Remolde added 12 of her own in the victory.
West Chester shot 38.9 % (21-of-54) from the field and 29.4 % (5-of-17) from beyond the arc while also shooting 76.9 % (10-of-13) from the line, but it was a hot-shooting Kutztown team, which saw the Golden Bears shoot 45.1 % (23-of-51) from the field and an impressive 51.7 % (15-of-29) from three to go along with a 12-of-14 (85.7 %) shooting effort from the line, which led the hosts to the victory.
Despite the setback, West Chester did end the game with a 35-29 advantage in rebounding, including a 10-5 edge on the offensive glass, which resulted in a 6-5 lead in second-chance points. Kutztown ended the game with a slim +1 (15-14) edge in the turnover battle but did end the game with a 21-12 lead in points off turnovers.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action on Wednesday evening vs. East-leading Shippensburg at home beginning at 5:30 before heading out on a three-game road trip with a visit to Clarion next Saturday afternoon.
