WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) led West Chester with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, along with nine assists and eight rebounds to help lead the No. 9/12 West Chester University women's basketball team (8-3, 3-2) to an 83-56 victory over Clarion (0-11, 0-5).
Johnson, who narrowly missed out on her second triple-double of 2023, was one of four Golden Rams in double figures in the victory as
Emily McAteer (Thornton, pa./Garnet Valley) and Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua) finished with 14 points each to go along with 11 points from
Jayde Boyd (Pittsburgh, Pa./Oakland Catholic). Boyd scored nine of her 11 points in the fourth quarter, connecting from distance three times late in the game to become the latest Golden Ram to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau.
Boyd, a graduate transfer from Mercyhurst, scored just under 100 of her 1,000 points as a Golden Ram and joins McAteer as the second Golden Ram this month to reach the milestone. McAteer was honored prior to the game with a ceremonial basketball in recognition of her 1000
th collegiate point, which she recorded in a 23-point effort at Mercyhurst on December 18.
West Chester overcame a slow start offensively, shooting just 33.3 % in the first quarter but never shooting below 44.0 % from the field for the remainder of the contest to earn the victory. West Chester trailed only briefly on Saturday afternoon, finding itself behind by two for the first few minutes of regulation, but erased this quickly, taking a 13-5 lead into the second before extending the lead to 31-10 heading to the half.
The Golden Rams nearly doubled their first-half scoring output in the third quarter, putting up 27 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the field and a 9-for-10 effort at the line to carry a 58-34 lead into the fourth.
West Chester saved its best shooting performance of the game for the fourth quarter, shooting a blistering 56.3 % (9-of-16) from the field, including a 4-for-7 (57.1 %) effort from three-point range. This effort allowed West Chester to score another 25 points in the fourth quarter, stretching its lead to as many as 32 with 3:10 to play in regulation, eventually earning the 27-point victory to remain unbeaten at home.
This fourth-quarter performance helped West Chester finish the half with its best offensive half of the season, scoring 52 of its 83 points in the final 20 minutes of action.
As a team, West Chester ended the afternoon shooting 45.3 % (29-of-64) from the field, including a 33.3 % (7-of-21) effort from three-point range and an 81.8 % (18-of-22) effort at the line.
For its part, Clarion shot 30.5 % (18-of-59) from the field, including 30.8 % (8-of-26) from three-point range, while also shooting 85.7 % (12-of-14) from the line. Abby Gatesman and Autumn Taylor both finished in double figures in the setback, finishing with 17 and 13, respectively.
West Chester ended the game with a 45-32 lead in rebounding, including a 12-8 edge on the offensive glass, which translated into a 12-7 lead in second-chance points. West Chester also ended the game with a +4 lead in turnovers, ending the game with a 16-8 lead in points off turnovers, a 28-18 lead in points in the paint, and a 10-7 lead in points off the break.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action on Wednesday afternoon at California (Pa.) beginning at 1 p.m.
