WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Playing in its first home playoff game since a victory over Millersville in 2018-19 and its first home quarterfinal since the 2017-18 season, the West Chester women's basketball team (22-7) showed no signs of nerves, rolling to an impressive 76-61 victory over Millersville (17-12) on Wednesday night. Similarly to the first two meetings, West Chester never trailed, racing out to an early lead and leading by 21 at the end of the first quarter en route to the victory.
West Chester, who was led by a pair of 20-point efforts from
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) and
Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del/Padua), led by as many as 35 midway through the third, cruising to the Quarterfinal victory. Millersville tried to mount a late comeback, ending the game on a 20-5 run over the last six minutes of action, but the comeback attempt would not be enough to help the Marauders come all the way back, as the Golden Rams earned a 15-point (76-61) victory to open its PSAC Tournament journey.
West Chester shot 43.5 % (27-of-62) from the field and 38.9 % (7-of-18) from three while also shooting 78.9 % (15-of-19) from the line in the victory. Taylor Langan led Millersville in scoring with a game-high 21 points as the lone Marauder in double figures, shooting a solid 7-of-16 from the field while also coming away with 10 rebounds for a double-double in what may well have been her final collegiate game. As a team, Millersville shot 38.1 % (24-of-63) from the field and 22.2 % (4-of-18) from three-point territory while also going 9-for-16 (56.3 %) from the line in the loss.
Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) was the third and final Golden Ram in double figures in the impressive victory, finishing with 14 on 4-of-10 shooting and a 6-for-6 effort at the line.
With this victory, West Chester extends its streak to 15 in a row and advances back to the PSAC Tournament Semifinals against Cal at Gannon on Saturday afternoon beginning at 1 p.m.
In the first two meetings during the regular season, West Chester got out to an early first-quarter lead, holding a 12-point advantage at the end of the first in both games, and used this early lead to roll to a victory. Tonight's meeting was no different as West Chester outscored its guest 27-6 in the first, led by 10 first-quarter points from
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) and
Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua) to take a comfortable lead into the second.
In the second, Millersville began to cut into the West Chester lead, matching West Chester with 16 points in the frame, including a 6-0 run near the middle of the quarter; however, West Chester was able to close the half out nicely, maintaining its 21-point (43-22) lead at the half.
At the end of the first half, Kozicki already had 18 points on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting effort from the field and a 6-for-6 effort at the line, while Johnson added 15 of her own through the first 20 minutes of basketball.
West Chester shot well over 50 % from the field in the first quarter (56.3 % on 9-of-16 shooting), which, combined with a slightly less torrent 40.0 % (6-of-15) shooting effort in the second quarter, led to West Chester shooting 48.4 % (15-of-31) from the field at the half. West Chester also went 3-for-9 (33.3 %) from deep in the first half, and connected on 10-of-11 at the line, while holding its guests to just 28.1 % (9-of-32) shooting from the field and 20.0 % (2-of-10) from deep in the first half.
West Chester opened the second half on an 11-3 run over the first 3:45 of the third period, prompting an early timeout by Millersville in an attempt to stem the tide. This time-out did not achieve its desired impact as West Chester extended its lead to 32 over the next two minutes of action, holding a 58-26 lead with 4:31 to play. This early run n the second half was just a part of an impressive third-quarter effort by West Chester, which saw the Golden Rams lead by as many as 35 late in the third period of action.
Millersville mounted a semblance of a comeback late in the fourth, outscoring West Chester 28-9 in the period, using a big run in the final five minutes of regulation to cut into the deficit, but the Marauders were unable to come all the way back as West Chester held on for a convincing 76-61 victory to return to the PSAC Semifinals for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
West Chester ended the game even with Millersville on the glass for the second time this season with 39 rebounds each, while West Chester scored 14 second-chance points and 36 points in the paint. West Chester also ended the game with a 12-8 lead in points off turnovers and a 10-7 advantage in the turnover battle in the victory.
Up Next:
With this victory, West Chester extends its winning streak to 15 in a row and will return to the PSAC Semifinals for the first time since the 2017-18 season against two-seed Cal on Saturday afternoon at Gannon.
