WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Following an 87-57 victory over Mansfield on Saturday afternoon, which saw
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) become the first player in team history to record two triple-doubles in her career, the West Chester University women's basketball team (13-5, 8-4) is right back at it tonight against an old rival in Millersville (7-11, 5-7). Tonight's game is set to tip at 5:30 p.m. in Hollinger Field House and is the second of three home games over the course of a week for West Chester, as the Golden Rams will also play at home on Saturday afternoon against East-leader Lock Haven on the Golden Rams annual Play4Kay day.
SERIES INFORMATION
Tomorrow night, West Chester will look to extend its home winning streak, which dates back to January of the 2022-23 season when Millersville pays a visit to Hollinger Field House. Winners of each of the last six in the series, West Chester now holds a 50-47 lead over the Marauders, flipping a series that had been led by the Marauders for many years. First meeting in 1969, West Chester dropped the first meeting but won the next five meetings as the two teams met on a yearly basis until the 1975-76 season. The Golden Rams have an edge in the series in Hollinger, holding a 28-18 advantage in games played on University Avenue. A year ago, West Chester won all three meetings against Millersville, sweeping the regular-season series before dispatching them in the PSAC Tournament quarterfinal.
FLOCK TALK
Leah Johnson continued to etch her name into the record books on Saturday afternoon as she recorded a triple-double (20 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds), making her the first player in team history to record two career triple-doubles to help lead the Golden Rams to an 87-57 victory over Mansfield. West Chester never trailed on Saturday afternoon against the Mounties. However, that does not mean the victory always looked easy for the Purple and Gold. West Chester struggled from the field in the first quarter, holding a slim 16-12 lead after 10 minutes of action, but expanded this lead quickly in the second quarter, outscoring Mansfield 23-8 in the frame to carry a 39-20 lead into the halftime break. West Chester kept its foot on the gas in the second half, leading by as many as 32 with 1:18 to play in the third quarter, and, despite an early fourth-quarter run by Mansfield, never allowed its guests back in the game. West Chester shot just 31.8 % from the field in the first quarter and 42.9 % in the second but shot a blistering 73.3 % in the third and 53.3 % in the fourth to end the game with a 47.9 % (35-of-73) field goal percentage.
Rachel Conran came off the bench and made a team-high four threes, going 4-for-4 from deep in the fourth quarter to score a career-high 12 points, while
Emily McAteer matched this output with 12 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double of her own.
While few coaches are likely to look forward to busy stretches that will see their teams play four games in eight days such as this, West Chester handled it as well as one could hope a year ago, going 8-0 when playing four games in eight days during the regular season while also winning a pair of NCAA Tournament games on back-to-back days at the end of the regular season, which led to the team reaching the Regional Final for the first time in program history. West Chester can also find some confidence in the fact that the Golden Rams are currently riding the eighth-longest home winning streak in Division II women's basketball, winning each of the last 18 games in Hollinger Field House.
Individually, McAteer and Johnson remain first and second on the team in scoring, averaging 16.5 and 14.9 points per game, which places McAteer fifth in the league in scoring, while also ranking first on the team and 13
th in the league in rebounding, averaging 7.0 rebounds per game. For her part, Johnson remains the league leader in assists per game, averaging 5.6, while also collecting an average of 2.3 steals per game, which ranks her third in the league in that category.
As a team, West Chester ranks second in the PSAC in both points per game (74.6/g) and points allowed per game (56.2/g) thanks in part to the Golden Rams stifling three-point defense, which holds opponents to just 23.9 % shooting on the year.
SCOUTING MILLERSVILLE
Millersville enters play on Monday night desperate to halt a three-game skid, which has seen the Marauders drop from 5-4 in league play to 5-7 after losses to Mansfield (84-60), Kutztown (64-6) and, most recently, East Stroudsburg (65-55). At ESU on Saturday afternoon, Millersville found itself tied at 14-14 at the end of the first quarter and carried a six-point lead into the fourth quarter after outscoring the Warriors 22-11 in the third (shot 76.9 %, 10-of-13 from the field), but struggled down the stretch, shooting just 23.1 % (3-of-13) from the field in the fourth as the Warriors came back to steal a 65-55 victory. Makiah Shaw led the Marauders in scoring with 18 points and eight rebounds as one of three players in double figures in the setback. Sophie Elston scored 12 points of her own to go along with eight rebounds and three steals, while Jillian Crawford chipped in 11 off the bench.
For the year, Millersville enters play, averaging 58.8 points per game on 40.4 % shooting from the field and 22.7 % from beyond the arc. The Marauders hold a +1.8 (36.8-35.0) advantage in rebounding but trail -4.0 in the turnover battle, averaging 19.9 turnovers per game. Individually, Shaw leads the team in scoring, averaging 12.8 points per game, while ranking second in rebounding, averaging 4.8 per game.
UP NEXT:
Tonight is the Golden Ram's lone Monday night game of the remainder of the regular season, and the team will return to action on Wednesday night at Bloomsburg before returning home to host PSAC East leader Lock Haven at 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 3.
