WEST CHESTER, Pa.- As the 2022-23 regular season winds to a close with just three games remaining, the West Chester women's basketball team (18-7, 15-4) returns home on Saturday afternoon to face Lock Haven in a Senior Day matchup beginning at 1 p.m.
Series Information
West Chester enters play on Saturday afternoon holding a 35-14 lead in the all-time series against Lock Haven after earning a 66-57 victory over the Bald Eagles on the road earlier this season. West Chester has split the last four meetings between the two squads after winning five in a row previously.
West Chester trailed only briefly, finding itself behind for just two minutes in the first quarter before erasing the deficit quickly and never trailing again en route to the nine-point victory. Despite the nine-point win, West Chester never truly put Lock Haven away, as the Bald Eagles remained within striking distance until the late stages of the game, but a 17-point effort from McAteer, along with 13 from Kozicki was more than enough to help West Chester earn the victory amid its 11-game winning streak.
Flock Talk
After appearing in the first edition of the NCAA DII women's basketball Regional Rankings on Wednesday afternoon, the West Chester women's basketball team cruised to a 68-42 victory over Shepherd on Wednesday night, completing its first season sweep of the Rams since they joined the PSAC in 2019-20. West Chester led by as many as 26 late in the fourth, trailing only briefly after the Rams hit the first field goal of the game, countering with a 13-2 run to erase the deficit and take a commanding lead, which they would never relinquish.
Emily McAteer and Anna McTamne led the way in scoring with 16 points each on 7-of-10 and 6-of-13 shooting.
Prior to Saturday's game, West Chester will take the time to honor its 2022-23 graduating senior class, as two-sport athlete
Abby Penjuke (Collegeville, Pa./Methacton) will conclude her time with the women's basketball program at the end of this season. Penjuke, who has also been a member of the Golden Rams softball team throughout her time at West Chester, is completing her second season on the hardwood with 36 career games played and 23 starts. She has logged over 531 minutes played during these two seasons and scored 118 points to go along with 137 rebounds and 22 assists as a Golden Ram.
On Wednesday night, West Chester ended the game with a 26-14 lead in points in the paint, marking the sixth game in a row in which West Chester has outscored its opponent in this category. A strong inside presence has been key to success all season for the Golden Rams, with West Chester winning this battle in all but five games this season and playing to a record of 17-5 in games in which the Golden Rams outscore opponents in points in the paint.
Scouting Lock Haven
Lock Haven enters play on Saturday afternoon, coming off a bye on Wednesday and a 58-57 win over Kutztown last Saturday afternoon. Lock Haven jumped out to an early lead in this game, taking a 29-11 lead into the halftime break, which proved vital as the Bald Eagles held off Kutztown down the stretch when the Golden Bears outscored them 46-29 to nearly steal a win. Lock Haven shot 42.5 % from the field in this win despite shooting just 28.6 % (2-of-7) from deep and shot, just over 70 % from the line to withstand losses in both the turnover and rebounding battles in the PSAC East triumph. Carly Fitzmorris led the team in scoring in the victory, finishing with 15 points, while also leading the team in assists with two. Taylor Leidy, who ranks third on the team in scoring on the year, averaging 7.6 points per game, led the team in rebounding in the win, pulling down seven rebounds to lead the Bald Eagles past the Golden Bears.
Lock Haven averages just over 60 points per game and allows roughly the same (scoring 60.4 and allowing 60.2 per), has been led offensively by Brooke Lawyer and Alana Robinson, who rank first and second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.0 and 12.3 points per game. Robinson also leads the team in rebounding on the year, averaging 7.2 rebounds per game while also sitting first on the team in assists, dishing an average of 2.4 assists per game.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action on Wednesday night in its final regular season home doubleheader of the year against Millersville beginning at 5:30 p.m.
