PHILADELPHIA-Tabbed as perhaps the biggest test of the year to this point for both No. 6/9 West Chester (4-1) and No. 19/11 Jefferson (6-0), the game lived up to its expectations and then some on Sunday afternoon, but it was the host Rams, who handed the Golden Rams their first loss of the season by a 75-63 final.
West Chester led by as many as 12 midway through the second quarter, but a late first-half run by Jefferson, which carried into the second half, and a solid effort from the Rams at the free throw line down the stretch helped the 19th-ranked hosts dethrone the Golden Rams in a battle of unbeatens on Sunday afternoon.
Emily McAteer (Thornton, Pa./Garnet Valley) finished with a team-high 20 points on 9-of-18 shooting and eight rebounds. At the same time,
Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) added 15 of her own to go along with 11 points by
Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua) along with nine rebounds and 10 more points from
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) in the setback.
Jefferson opened the game on a quick 4-0 run, holding its guests scoreless for nearly three minutes of action before Johnson scored the first of her 10 first-half points to cut the deficit in half. This jumper sparked something in the Golden Rams offense as the team outscored the Rams 19-13 in the remainder of the quarter, carrying a slim 19-17 lead into the second after a successful three-point play by Haley Meinel, for three of her 15 first-half points just before the end of the quarter.
In the first six minutes of the second quarter, West Chester went on a 14-4 run, taking its largest lead of the game (12 points over the host Rams), following a McAteer layup, which was one of four makes in a row for the senior, scoring eight of her team-high 12 first-half points during the run. Leading 33-21 with just over four minutes to play in the first half, West Chester saw Jefferson go on a run of its own, outscoring the Golden Rams 17-6 down the stretch of the half, trailing by just one heading into the halftime break.
With three players in double figures, West Chester held a slim lead at the break, shooting 15-of-35 (42.9 %) from the field, 2-of-8 (25.0 %) from deep, and 7-of-8 (87.5 %) from the line in the first 20 minutes. West Chester did trail by two in the rebounding department at the halfway point, as Jefferson finished the half with 19, including 14 on the defensive glass to 17 for the Golden Rams.
Out of the break, Jefferson retook the lead for the first time since the early stages of the first, trading a slim lead with West Chester throughout much of the quarter. Jefferson took its largest lead of the game to this point late in the third when Emma Kuczynski stole it away from McTamney and turned it into points down the other end, giving the Rams a five-point (54-49) lead with 54 seconds to play in the period. McAteer cut into the deficit with a layup with 18 seconds left after grabbing a rebound following a three-point miss by Johnson, making the score 54-51 heading into the fourth.
McTamney evened the score 18 seconds into the fourth, draining a three off an assist by Kozicki, but the Rams scored eight of the following 11 points to take a 62-57 lead over the Golden Rams with under six minutes to play in regulation. The deficit remained five points down the stretch, with Jefferson clutching a 64-59 lead over the Golden Rams before a Cassie Murphy layup gave the Rams a 66-59 lead.
Far from finished, Kozicki intercepted a Jefferson pass at the midcourt line and took it in herself for a driving layup, drawing contact on the way, earning a trip to the line for a chance to make it a one-possession game with 2:57 to play. Kozicki accomplished this goal, draining her free throw, which, after an 0-for-2 trip to the line by Jefferson, gave West Chester a chance to tie things up with two minutes to play. Trailing 66-63, West Chester fell victim to a late cold spell, going 0-for-6 from the floor in the final two minutes of play, allowing Jefferson to put the game away at the free-throw line and escape in the battle of unbeatens.
After shooting 42.9 % from the field in the first half, West Chester cooled off in the second half, ending the game with a 32.9 % (23-of-70) shooting effort from the field, going just 4-for-20 (20.0 %) from three-point range and 81.3 % (13-of-16) from the line in the setback.
For its part, Jefferson shot 50.9 % (29-of-57) from the field, despite going just 2-for-12 (16.7 %) from beyond the arc, as the Golden Rams continue to boast one of the best three-point defenses in Division II. Jefferson, who was led by 19 points from Meinel as one of five Rams in double figures, shot 65.2 % (15-of-23) at the line but made its free throws when they mattered most to earn the victory. Sam Yencha picked up her third double-double in as many games, coming away with 16 points and 12 rebounds to help Jefferson win the rebounding battle by a 40-35 margin, which led to a 14-10 advantage in second-chance points.
West Chester ended the game with a 34-24 lead in points in the paint but lost the points off turnovers battle (20-16) despite a +1 (15-14) advantage in the turnover battle.
Bouncing back from a loss was something West Chester was excellent at a season ago, going 5-3 in such games, never dropping more than two games in a row at any point during the 2022-23 campaign.
UP NEXT:
West Chester returns to action on Friday afternoon against Slippery Rock at 3 p.m. in its first PSAC Crossover game of the year before hosting Edinboro on Saturday afternoon at 1.
