WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Emily McAteer (Thornton, Pa./Garnet Valley) scored a team-high 17 points to help lead the West Chester University women's basketball team (10-5, 5-4) to a convincing 66-35 victory over East Stroudsburg (4-9, 2-6) in PSAC East play on Saturday afternoon.
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) finished with 10 points in the victory, along with six rebounds and six assists, which helped her break the WCU career assist record in the win.
Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) was the third Golden Ram in double figures, finishing with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting in the victory.
West Chester shot 42.4 % (25-of-59) from the field in the victory, connecting on 5-of-15 (33.3 %) from deep, led by McTamney, who hit a pair of threes in the victory. For its part, East Stroudsburg struggled mightily against the Golden Rams defense, shooting just 25.0 % (10-of-40) from the field, including 20.0 % (3-for-15) from deep and 12-of-15 (80.0 %) from the line. East Stroudsburg also committed 22 turnovers in the setback, 12 more than they forced against the Golden Rams.
Corrin Gill was the lone Warrior to finish in double figures, scoring 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting, but it was not enough to help the visitors spoil the Alumni Day festivities in Hollinger.
West Chester and East Stroudsburg traded makes throughout the early stages of the first quarter, but an 8-0 run by West Chester helped the Golden Rams take a 22-9 lead into the second quarter. The first quarter also saw a piece of West Chester history made as Johnson became the new career-assist leader with just under five minutes to play after her third helper of the opening half, passing Colleen McNamara's record of 509, which had stood since 1990.
West Chester extended its lead in the second quarter, outscoring its guests 19-5 to carry a 27-point lead into the halftime break.
At the half, West Chester paused to honor Johnson for this achievement, presenting her with a commemorative ball in honor of this record. Presenting Johnson the ball was current head coach
Kiera Wooden, longtime head coach Deirdre Kane, and former record holder Colleen McNamara.
McTamney led all scorers in the first half, finishing with 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting, while Johnson added 10 to go along with nine from McAteer.
West Chester shot 48.4 % (15-of-31) from the field in the first half, including a 40.0 % (4-of-10) performance from deep, while also going a perfect 7-for-7 at the line through the first 20 minutes.
The Golden Rams' defensive work was key to building their first-half lead, forcing ESU into 11 turnovers, which resulted in a 15-2 lead in points off turnovers and an 18-6 advantage in points in the paint.
The Golden Rams continued to control things in the third quarter, outscoring the Warriors 14-8 in the frame, shooting 37.5 (6-of-16) from the field compared to just 27.3 % (3-of-11) shooting for the visitors.
East Stroudsburg attempted to mount an ill-fated comeback in the fourth quarter, outscoring West Chester 13-11 in a relatively low-scoring fourth quarter of action, but West Chester rolled to a 66-35 victory.
West Chester also ended the game with a 38-28 lead in rebounding, resulting in a 10-5 lead in second-chance points to go along with a 19-2 advantage in points off turnovers, a 34-14 lead in points in the paint, and a 13-2 lead in points off the break.
Following the game and just prior to the opening tip of the men's game vs ESU, West Chester also honored longtime head coach Deirdre Kane alongside former head men's basketball coach Dick DeLaney, formally unveiling plans to rename the Hollinger Field House Court in honor of the two longtime head coaches, who combined for over 870 wins with the Golden Rams.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action next Wednesday night at Kutztown beginning at 5:30 p.m. in its lone game of the week. West Chester will not play in front of its home crowd again until Saturday, January 27 against Mansfield beginning at 1 p.m.
