PHILADELPHIA- After improving 4-0 with a 71-51 victory over Chestnut Hill on Monday night, the No. 6/9 West Chester University women's basketball team (5-0) appears ready for its next challenge in No. 19/11 Jefferson (5-0) on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. inside the Gallagher Athletic Center.
SERIES INFORMATION
This will be the 39th meeting between Jefferson and West Chester, with the Rams holding a shrinking 21-18 lead over WCU in the all-time series. Despite the deficit in the all-time series, West Chester enters play on a two-game winning streak against the Rams, including an 86-81 victory in Hollinger a year ago.
Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) led four Golden Rams in double figures with 30 points. At the same time,
Emily McAteer (Thornton, Pa./Garnet Valley) and
Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua) added 22 and 20, respectively, to help guide West Chester past Jefferson a season ago. West Chester trailed by four at the end of the first quarter but outscored its guests 26-8 in the second to erase the deficit and take a commanding lead it would never fully relinquish en route to the five-point victory over the nationally-ranked Rams. West Chester shot a solid 43.1 % from the field and 35.0 % from beyond the arc while also shooting 70.8 % at the line and ending the game with a 47-36 lead in rebounding to pull the upset on Jefferson.
FLOCK TALK
West Chester has looked as dominant as anyone through the first few weeks of the regular season, playing to a mark of 4-0 with three double-digit (29, 48, 20) victories in an impressive start to the year. On Monday night against Chestnut Hill, West Chester found itself behind for the first time in over 400 minutes but trailed for less than three minutes in the first quarter en route to a 71-51 victory over the Griffins. West Chester used a 17-0 run in the second quarter to extend its lead to 17 heading into the halftime break. West Chester, led by a game-high 19 points and eight rebounds by
Emily McAteer (Thornton, Pa./Garnet Valley), continued extending its lead, eventually leading by as many as 28 in a confident-looking victory to open the week.
When the Golden Rams appeared in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division II Preseason Coaches Poll in 13th, that was the highest WBCA DII poll ranking in program history and the third highest in any poll for the Golden Rams, trailing only the 2014-15 season when West Chester was ranked eighth and seventh in the D2CSC (formerly D2SIDA) Poll in Mid-December of that season. This week's ranking of sixth in the first WBCA poll of the regular season is now the highest ranking the program has ever received in its Division II history, surpassing the previous high-water mark of seventh from the 2014-15 campaign. West Chester is also ranked ninth in the D2CSC poll, climbing from 13th in that preseason poll.
The Golden Rams have looked every bit as impressive as their ranking would indicate through the first few weeks of the season, winning each of their first four games, including three victories by 20 points or more, with a 48-point (69-21) win over Wilmington (Del.) serving as the crown jewel of this impressive start. West Chester, who entered play on Monday night against Chestnut Hill having not trailed in over 400 minutes, has found itself behind for just nine minutes and 34 seconds this year, trailing for just over six-and-half minutes in its season opener vs. Elizabeth City State University and trailing again for just under three minutes on Monday night against Chestnut Hill. Through four games, West Chester ranks 10th in Division II women's basketball in field-goal percentage defense (31.1 %), scoring defense (49.2), and three-point percentage defense (17.2 %) as one of 47 unbeaten teams remaining in the Nation.
Offensively, West Chester has averaged 75.5 points per game this season and has been remarkably balanced in the process, with four players averaging in double figures, led by
Emily McAteer (Thornton, Pa./Garnet Valley), who averages a team-best 13.8 points per game.
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame), who is third on the team in scoring, averaging 13.0 points per game, also ranks 12th in Division II in assists this season, posting 22 on the year, averaging 5.5 per game, which is 20th in the Nation.
REVIEWING THE RAMS
Jefferson looks to be the biggest test of the year so far for West Chester as the Rams enter play ranked in the top 20 in Division II, checking in at 19th in the WBCA Poll and 11th in the D2CSC Poll with a perfect record of 5-0.
Jefferson enters play on Sunday following a 73-48 rout of East Stroudsburg at home on Tuesday night. Jefferson got an early lead, outscoring its guests 21-9 in the first quarter and holding the Warriors under 10 points in each of the first three quarters to roll to the 25-point victory. Haley Meinel led the Rams in scoring, finishing with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting, while Sam Yencha picked up her second straight double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Jefferson saw its entire starting five score in double figures as Emma Kuczynski added 11 points, while Morgan Robinson and Cassie Murphy added 10 points each in the victory.
Sunday afternoon's meeting will be a clash between two of the top defenses in Pennsylvania as Jefferson enters ranked 15th in scoring defense, allowing an average of just 54.2 points per game, while also ranking 11th in turnover margin, with a CACC-best +9.00 margin on the year. While the Rams' defense has been impressive so far this season, the offense has done its share as well, averaging 74.6 points per game, shooting 45.7 % from the field, 35.1 % from three-point range, and 82.8 % from the line nearing the end of the first month of the season.
Sunday will also feature two of the top point guards in Division II as Morgan Robinson leads the way for Jefferson, ranking third in DII in assists (33) and eight in assists per game (6.6). Haley Meinel leads Jefferson in scoring, averaging 17.6 points per game, while also ranking second in the Nation in steals, coming away with 21 through the first five games of the year. Sam Yencha, who ranks 15th in the Nation in double-doubles after recording her second consecutive double-double on Tuesday night, ranks second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.2 points per game, while also leading the team in rebounding, averaging 9.4 rebounds per game.
UP NEXT:
West Chester returns to action on Friday, December 1, for its first PSAC Crossover game of the year against Slippery Rock, beginning at 3 p.m. The Golden Rams game against Slippery Rock on Friday afternoon will be the first of two games in two days for West Chester. The team will welcome Edinboro on Saturday at 1 p.m. for the second game of the first weekend of Crossover play.
