WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Off to a 3-0 start for the time since the 2014-15 season, the No. 13/8 West Chester University women's basketball team (3-0) has looked every bit as impressive as its record would indicate through the first three games of the season. After a hard-fought victory on opening night over Elizabeth City State, West Chester enters play on Monday, having not trailed in 408 minutes (dating back to the fourth quarter of the victory over ECSU). West Chester concludes its longest homestand of the season on Monday night at 5:30 p.m. when Chestnut Hill visits Hollinger Field House once again.
THE SERIES
West Chester holds a 3-1 lead in the all-time series against the Griffins, including a road victory a year ago, which saw the team hold on for a 57-53 triumph. The last time Chestnut Hill visited Hollinger, things ended in heartbreak for the Golden Rams as the Griffins escaped with an 80-68 victory over the Golden Rams. West Chester led for much of the game in this meeting during the 2021 season, but a late 14-0 run for Chestnut Hill, combined with 32 trips to the line for the visitors, allowed Chestnut Hill to rally and steal the victory late.
FLOCK TALK
West Chester enters play on Monday night after another convincing victory, dismantling CACC foe Wilmington by a 69-21 final in Hollinger on Saturday afternoon. West Chester took the lead with just over nine minutes to play in the first quarter and never looked back, taking a 19-2 lead into the second quarter and eventually extending its lead to as many as 50 in the dominant victory. No member of the West Chester starting five played longer than 23 minutes on Saturday afternoon, but this did little to stop two of the Golden Rams from finishing in double figures as
Michelle Kozicki led all scorers with 16 points in just 12 minutes of work, while
Leah Johnson added 10 of her own on 4-of-7 shooting, including a team-best 2-for-3 from deep in just 22 minutes on Saturday.
West Chester also ended the game with a +28 (58-30) lead in rebounding, increasing its rebounding margin on the season to +18.0, which ranks fourth best in all of Division II women's basketball. After recording its best free-throw shooting percentage in DII program history a year ago, West Chester has picked up right where it left off in 2023-24, converting 81.6 % (62-of-76) of its trips to the line so far this season. From the field, West Chester has overcome some lackluster three-point shooting early in the season (shooting just 22.1 %) from deep to shoot 42.3 % from inside the arc, converting on 52-of-114 attempts in two-point territory.
With her 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting on Saturday afternoon, Kozicki moved back into first on the team in scoring, averaging 14.3 points per game, just one point (43-42) ahead of Johnson, who ranks second on the team, averaging 14.0 points per game as she continues her quest for the program scoring record.
GET TO KNOW THE GRIFFINS
For its part, Chestnut Hill enters Monday with a record of 2-2 following a 62-58 victory over Bloomsburg on Saturday afternoon. At Bloomsburg on Saturday afternoon, Chestnut Hill was tied at the end of the first quarter at 20-20 but outscored its hosts by seven in the second and third quarters to escape with a four-point victory over the Huskies. This triumph evens the Griffins at 2-2 on the year, as the team has split its first four games of the season.
Chestnut Hill opened the year with an 82-73 loss at Molloy before defeating Queens the next day by a 63-46 final to end the opening weekend 1-1. The Griffins opened their home slate on Wednesday, November 15, against the University of the District of Columbia, falling to the Firebirds by a 64-60 margin before bouncing back at Bloomsburg on Saturday afternoon.
Newcomer Birdie McCann is the Griffins leading scorer so far this season, averaging 13.8 points per game, while Emily Sekerak and Avery White join her in double figures, averaging 12.5 and 10.5 points per game, respectively. Kaitlyn Carter, who is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 8.3 points per game, also leads the squad in rebounding, averaging 8.8 rebounds per game, while Sekereak is second on the team, averaging 7.8 rebounds of her own. Caleigh Edwards and Avery White rank first and second on the team in assists, averaging 3.5 and 2.8 helpers per game to help run the Griffin offense, which averages 64.5 points per game on 36.4 % shooting from the field through the first two weeks of the regular season.
UP NEXT
West Chester plays its final home game of November today against Chestnut Hill before heading to Jefferson on Sunday afternoon for a 1 p.m. tip. West Chester will return home quickly, returning to Hollinger for a three-game homestand to begin December, welcoming Slippery Rock, Edinoro, and Lincoln to University Avenue on the 1st, 2nd, and 5th.
