Game Notes
GLENVILLE, W.V.- The West Chester women's basketball team (22-8) is finishing its preparations ahead of its first game of the Division II Women's Basketball Tournament vs Cal (21-10) on Friday afternoon, beginning at 12 p.m. Friday's game, which will pit the third-seeded Golden Rams against the sixth-seeded Vulcans, is a rematch of the PSAC Tournament Semifinals from last Saturday afternoon, a contest in which Cal, the eventual PSAC Tournament Champions, earned a narrow victory by a 62-59 final after going an 18-4 run midway through the second half of action.
The Golden Rams return to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time under head coach
Kiera Wooden and the first time since the 2017-18 season when the team entered as a seven seed and faced Glenville State in the opening round inside Barco Stevens Hall at Virginia Union. Third is the highest the Golden Rams have been seeded since the 2003 season, which was when the NCAA expanded the field from 48 to 64 teams. In 1997 and 2001, West Chester was a two-seed in each of those years, earning a bye through the Round of 48 into the Round of 32, where the Golden Rams would fall to Bloomsburg and Edinboro, respectively. The 2003 season was also the last time West Chester won an NCAA Tournament game and advanced to the Round of 32, defeating fourth-seeded Pfeiffer as the fifth seed in the opening round before falling to top-seed Cal in the Round of 32.
Fan Information
This weekend's Tournament will be held inside the Waco Center in Glenville, West Virginia, for the second year in a row. Ticket sales will begin one hour prior to the first game of the day each day and will only be available on-site, with ticket prices at $7 for adults and $5 for children, students, and seniors.
Fans should plan to park in the upper portion of the lot at the Waco Center, with the spectator entrance being by the doors with the Waco Center signage.
Series Information
West Chester enters play on Friday trailing 26-2 in the all-time series against Cal, including nine straight losses. West Chester and Cal just met on Saturday afternoon in the PSAC Semifinals, a game in which West Chester led by as many as eight in the second half, but Cal stormed back to take by a 62-59 final, using a late second-half run to advance to the PSAC Championship. West Chester is 0-1 against Cal in the NCAA Tournament, with that loss coming in 2003 in the Round of 32 by a 62-58 final.
West Chester is 0-6 in postseason matchups against Cal, including a mark of 0-1 in the NCAA Tournament, with the last meeting coming in 2003.
When West Chester and Cal got together a week ago, the Golden Rams and Vulcans traded baskets throughout the early going, but West Chester carried a slim one-point lead into the halftime break after a 9-0 run in the second quarter. West Chester stretched its lead to as many as eight midways through the third, but Cal began a comeback late in the frame, which, after a turnover and long three, had the Vulcans down by just one heading into the fourth. Cal continued its run, eventually going on an 18-4 run from late in the third to the midway point of the fourth to take a seven-point lead. West Chester, led by six fourth-quarter points from
Michelle Kozicki, attempted to battle back and got the deficit down to just three with the chance at a final shot, but the Golden Rams were unable to capitalize, falling by a 62-59 final.
Emily McAteer had a career day, finishing with 28 points, while
Leah Johnson added 12 of her own as the only two Golden Rams in double figures in the loss.
Flock Talk
Looking for its first win in the NCAA Tournament (1-7) since the 2003 season, West Chester enters the Tournament with revenge on its mind after falling to the same Cal squad just over a week ago in the PSAC Semifinals, which halted an impressive 15-game winning streak for the Purple and Gold.
The 2022-23 season started with the Golden Rams going 4-2 through the first six games of the year, including a pair of wins over ranked opponents (#22/25 Jefferson, #15/8 Gannon) for the first time since the 2014-15 season and has continued its impressive trajectory since. West Chester closed out 2022 with a record of 6-5 overall and a mark of 3-2 in league play after closing out the year with a 90-72 win over Seton Hill. Wooden and the Golden Rams opened 2023 with a win over Mansfield, which saw
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) record a triple-double and
Emily McAteer (Thornton, Pa./Garnet Valley) log a double-double as the first teammate duo to do so in a PSAC East game in program history. West Chester dropped its next two games, falling to Kutztown and Shippensburg, but Wooden's charges would not lose again in the regular season, going on a 14-game winning streak before defeating Millersville in the PSAC Quarterfinals to stretch its winning streak to 15 in a row. West Chester led by as many as eight in the second half of the PSAC Semifinals against Cal before an 18-4 run by the Vulcans erased this advantage and gave the Vulcans a seven-point lead, which they would never fully relinquish.
Balance has been perhaps the Golden Rams biggest asset this year as four different Golden Rams average in double figures on the year, while these same four have combined for 28 double-doubles and one triple-double on the year, the most in a single season in recent memory. McAteer, a First Team All-League selection, leads the charge for the Golden Rams in scoring and rebounding, averaging 15.8 points and 8.3 rebounds, while also leading the team in double-doubles with 11. McAteer has the most double-doubles in a single season since Mia Hopkins had 12 the last time West Chester advanced to the NCAA Tournament, during the 2017-18 season. McAteer scored 28 in the setback against Cal a week ago, which impressively does not stand as the single-game high for West Chester this year as
Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh), the lone Golden Ram with NCAA Tournament experience from her time at U Sciences (4.0 min/g, 4 Pts/g), scored 30 in the win over Jefferson, while Johnson scored 38 at West Virginia State. Johnson, the Golden Rams other First Team All-League selection, is second on the team in scoring, averaging 15.3 points per game, while leading the team and ranking second in the league/fourth in the Nation in assists, averaging 6.6 per game.
West Chester has limited history against a number of the other teams at the Regional, playing Charleston (0-1) and West Virginia State (0-1) just once each while squaring off against Gannon nine times (3-6), Glenville State 10 (2-8), and having never faced Elizabeth City State. West Chester does have extensive experience with the remaining two PSAC squads at the Tournament, entering play with a mark of 31-33 all-time against Shippensburg and its history vs Cal. As one of the top offensive teams at the Regional, West Chester ranks fourth among the teams at the Tournament in points per game, averaging 72.9, while also ranking second in field-goal percentage (44.0), trailing only Gannon, who enters with a 46.2 % mark on the year. McAteer also ranks in a tie for third in the Regional field in scoring, averaging 15.8 points per game, while
Michelle Kozicki (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) is third in rebounding, averaging 8.4 rebounds per game. Johnson is second in the Tournament field in assists, trailing only Loyd of Cal, who ranks first in the PSAC and third in DII in assists, averaging 6.8 per game.
As a unit, consistency from inside the three-point arc and at the line have been major strengths for WCU this season, shooting 47.7 % on two-point field goal attempts while also shooting 76.7 % at the line, which is the team's best shooting percentage in the programs Division II history.
Scouting Cal
With this appearance, Cal is making its 19
th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and its eighth consecutive, playing to a mark of 12-5 over those eight appearances. The 2014-15 season, which saw Cal capture the National Championship, its first under head coach Jess Strom and second overall, saw the Vulcans go 6-0, including wins over Virginia State, West Liberty, Bloomsburg, Nova Southeastern, Emporia State, and California Baptist in the National Championship. Cal has not gone 0-1 at the Tournament since the 2017-18 season.
Cal enters the Tournament after playing the spoiler role throughout the PSAC Championships, knocking off the top two seeds in the PSAC Tournament en route to its first Championship since going back-to-back in the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Halle Herrington led the Vulcans in scoring in this win, finishing with 20 points, including three more made threes, while Allycia Harris had 19 and Ciaira Loyd finished with 16 in the victory.
Rajah Fink, who had 12 in the Championship game triumph, has been the Vulcans leader throughout the year, scoring an average of 15.2 points per game to go along with 10.1 rebounds, while Loyd plays a role very similar to Johnson for West Chester. Loyd is second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.3 points per game, while leading the team and ranking third in the NCAA in assists, averaging 6.8 per game to go along with a team-best 1.9 steals per game on the year. Three-point shooting has not been a strong suit for Cal this year, as the Vulcans shoot 29.0 % from range while shooting 41.3 % from the field overall. Herrington is the best three-point shooter on the team for Cal as of late, connecting on numerous clutch threes late in games, including three in the PSAC Semifinals and PSAC Championships.
With a Win
With a victory on Friday afternoon, West Chester would advance to the Round of 32 for the first time since the 2003 season and would face off against the winner of the Gannon/Charleston on Saturday for the right to advance to the Regional Championship on Monday night.
