BLOOMSBURG, Pa.- Seeking its first PSAC East regular-season title since the 2017-18 campaign, the West Chester women's basketball team (21-7, 18-4) took to the road on Saturday afternoon, making the trip to Bloomsburg (9-17, 7-15) for the regular-season finale against the Huskies. After watching the West Chester men's basketball team mount a comeback for the ages in the afternoon's first game, the West Chester women's team made sure no such effort would be necessary for its victory, jumping out to an early lead and never trailing on the way to an impressive 60-48 road victory over Bloomsburg.
Today's win gives West Chester a share of the divisional crown with Shippensburg for the first time since the 2017-18 season. The Golden Rams earn the top seed in the Eastern Division by way of its 2-0 record vs. Bloomsburg - as compared to a 1-1 mark for Shippensburg. It also extends West Chester's winning streak to 14 games in a row, the longest since the team went unbeaten through East play in the 2017-18 season. Today's victory is also the Golden Rams' best defensive effort against the Huskies since at least the 1981-82 season, with the next best effort coming during the 2007-08 campaign when West Chester held Bloomsburg to just 48 points. This road triumph is also the Golden Rams' first road win over the Huskies since January 25, 2020, when WCU picked up a 74-64 road victory inside Nelson Field House.
West Chester never trailed, jumping out to an early 8-0 lead and eventually stretching the lead to as many as 22 (41-19) with 3:07 to play in the third. Bloomsburg put together its best offensive performance of the day in the fourth, trimming the deficit down to 12 in the late stages, but it was not enough for the Huskies to come back as WCU cruised to a 60-48 victory.
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) had a big second half, finishing with 17, including 13 second-half points to lead all scorers, while
Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua) finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds to go along with a 12-point effort by
Emily McAteer (Thornton, Pa./Garnet Valley) as she also finished with eight rebounds and three assists.
As a team, West Chester shot 41.7 % (25-of-60) from the field and 16.7 % (1-of-6) from deep while also shooting 75.0 % (9-of-12) from the line in the win. West Chester held Bloomsburg to just 36.2 % (17-of-47) shooting from the field and 30.0 % (6-of-20) from deep, while the Huskies also went 8-of-11 (72.7 %) from the line.
West Chester jumped out to a 10-2 lead after the first quarter as
Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua) led all scorers with eight points while also helping hold Bloomsburg scoreless for the first 8:05 regulation.
After getting its first points of the game late in the first and a buzzer-beating layup by
Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) to close out the first quarter, the second quarter was much more active offensively, with West Chester outscoring its hosts 15-12 to carry a 25-14 lead into the halftime break.
Kozicki led all scorers in the first half, finishing the first 20 minutes of basketball with 10 points and seven rebounds, already well on her way to a double-double. McAteer ended the first half with five points of her own while Johnson chipped in four to help the Golden Rams, who shot 37.0 % from the field and 0-for-1 from deep out to an 11-point halftime lead.
West Chester opened the second half on a 26-7 run through the first seven minutes of the third, surging ahead to a 41-19 lead, which put the game out of reach. Bloomsburg, who was led offensively by 12 points from Emma Gochnauer, showed signs of offensive life in the fourth quarter, scoring 25 points in the frame, which was more than it had scored all afternoon to that point. However, the early West Chester lead was far too much for the Huskies to overcome as the Golden Rams pulled away for the 60-48 victory.
Gochnauer, who finished with 12 on 4-of-9 shooting, was the first of three Huskies in double figures as Megan Fisher added 11, shooting 4-of-10 and a game-best 3-of-5 from deep, along with a team-high eight rebounds and three steals. Katelin Starr was the third and final Bloomsburg player in double figures in the setback, finishing with 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting and corralling five rebounds in the season-ending loss for the Huskies, who are missing the PSAC Tournament for the first time since the 2009 season.
West Chester also ended the game with a 40-25 lead in rebounding, including a 16-6 advantage in offensive rebounds, which led to a 13-9 lead in second-chance points. West Chester also won the turnover battle, 18-14 (+4), which led to a 23-5 advantage in points off turnovers.
In other situational stats, West Chester also ended the game with a 40-20 lead in points in the paint and a narrow 6-5 lead in points off the break as the team cruised to its 14
th win in a row.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action in the PSAC Quarterfinals at home on Wednesday evening against an opponent yet to be determined, as the team will await the winner of the Millersville/East Stroudsburg matchup on Monday.
