WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Emily McAteer (Thornton, Pa./Garnet Valley) led all scorers with 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting as the highest of three Golden Rams in an 82-27 victory over Shepherd (3-10, 1-7) on Wednesday night in Hollinger Field House.
West Chester (9-5, 4-4) led by as many as 56 in the fourth quarter after holding its visitors to just six points in the first half, which allowed the Golden Rams to carry a 43-6 lead into the halftime break. The Golden Rams 37-point halftime advantage is the team's largest halftime lead since the switch to quarters. It is the second-largest halftime advantage under head coach
Kiera Wooden, trailing only its 44-point (66-22) lead over Concordia (N.Y.) in Coach Wooden's head coaching debut in November of the 2015 season. Tonight's victory, a 55-point victory, is the team's largest victory margin of victory under head coach
Kiera Wooden and is the team's largest victory since a 90-19 victory over Green Mountain College on November 18 of the 2001-02 season. Tonight's victory was also the largest win over a PSAC foe since February 12 of the 1994 season when the Golden Rams defeated Cheyney by an 88-27 final.
Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) finished with 14 points of her own to go along with six rebounds and five steals, while
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) finished with 11 points along with seven rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Johnson's six-assist effort moved the graduate student guard just two assists shy of the program assist record (509) currently held by Colleen McNamara.
Holding a slim 7-6 lead at the first media timeout of the night, West Chester dominated the next 14 minutes of the first half, holding Shepherd scoreless while increasing its lead to 43-6 heading into the halftime break.
West Chester led 22-6 after the first quarter behind 10 first-quarter points from McAteer, while McTamney came away with five steals and six points in the opening 10 minutes.
The Golden Rams continued their dominant defensive effort in the second quarter, forcing Shepherd into seven more turnovers, running the Rams turnover total to 15 while shooting 52.9 % (9-of-17) from the field to carry a 37-point lead into the halftime break, its largest halftime lead of the season.
McAteer led all scorers in the first half, finishing with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including a 3-for-5 effort from three-point range, while
Briana Seltzer (Reading, Pa./Reading) added nine points off the bench.
Out of the halftime break, Shepherd halted a 36-minute scoreless drought and tried to battle back down the stretch, but the Golden Ram's early lead was more than enough as the team never struggled, rolling to the 55-point victory.
West Chester shot 45.7 % (32-of-70) from the field in the victory, including a 9-for-28 (32.1 %) from three-point territory, while also shooting 81.8 % (9-of-11) from the line. West Chester also ended the game with a 53-26 lead in rebounding, including a 17-4 advantage on the offensive glass, which translated into a 19-2 lead in second-chance points.
The Golden Rams also ended the game with a 30-14 lead in points off turnovers, winning the turnover battle by a 27-17 margin, along with a 30-16 lead in points in the paint, an 18-2 lead in points off the break, and a 25-13 advantage in points off the bench led by nine from Seltzer and five each from
Kaziah Ross (Binghamton, N.Y./Binghamton) and Rachel Conran (Springfield, Pa./Springfield).
For Shepherd, it was a night the Rams would likely prefer to forget as they shot just 23.1 % (12-of-52) from the field, including a 2-for-21 (9.5 %) effort from beyond the arc, led by six points and ten rebounds by Cara Minor. Minor also led the team in steals, finishing with four, along with two assists as the top player for the visitors throughout the evening.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action on Saturday afternoon against East Stroudsburg beginning at 1 p.m. on what will also be Alumni Day for the Golden Rams.
