BLOOMSBURG, Pa.- Emily McAteer (Thornton, Pa./Garnet Valley) continued her stellar run of play since the beginning of PSAC East play on Wednesday night, finishing with 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting to help lead the West Chester University women's basketball team (15-5, 10-4) to a 67-45 road victory over Bloomsburg (4-16, 2-12).
McAteer was one of two Golden Rams in double figures in the victory as she was joined by
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame), who finished with 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting while also going a perfect 5-for-5 from the field. The graduate student guard finished with a team-high six assists and four steals while also corralling five rebounds, which was second-best on the team, trailing only McAteer, who finished with eight.
West Chester never trailed and led by as many as 26 with under three minutes to play in the fourth quarter en route to its seventh straight victory. The Golden Rams did an excellent job defensively on Wednesday night, forcing Bloomsburg into 22 turnovers, which resulted in a 23-12 lead in points off turnovers, while also limiting the top scorer in the PSAC, Katie Starr, to just five points in the setback. Maddie LaFrance led Bloomsburg in scoring, finishing with nine points on 3-of-7 shooting from three-point range.
After just over two scoreless minutes to open the game, Johnson scored the first points of the game for the Golden Rams with a pull-up jumper in transition, sparking a 13-3 run, which helped the Golden Rams carry an 18-8 lead into the second.
In the second, Bloomsburg started to find its stride offensively in the early going, cutting the Golden Ram advantage to 25-19 after outscoring West Chester 11-7 through the first four minutes of the period. McAteer went 1-for-2 at the line with 5:40 to play in the first half and sparked a 12-0 Golden Ram run, with five points each from Johnson and McAteer to give the Golden Rams a 37-19 lead with 2:23 to play until halftime. Ava Stevenson halted the run for Bloomsburg, connecting on a three with 1:27 to play until halftime =, which cut the lead to 37-22, but McAteer responded with an old-fashioned three-point play, which increased the lead to 40-22 heading into the halftime break.
McAteer had a huge first half, finishing with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting as the senior appeared to be well on her way to a potential career night. Johnson, who has been among the best players in Division II in the last week with back-to-back triple-doubles to begin this four-game gauntlet, finished with 13 points of her own, connecting on 5-of-9 from the field while leading the team in assists (3) and steals (2) at the midway point.
West Chester shot nearly 60 % in the first quarter, shooting 58.3 % (7-of-12) from the field, which helped the team head to the half with a 51.7 % (15-of-29) field goal percentage, including an even 50.0 % (3-of-6) from deep after going 2-for-2 from beyond the arc in the first 10 minutes.
Bloomsburg shot just 27.3 % in the first quarter and improved in the second, shooting 41.7 % from the field, but went to the half shooting just 34.8 %(8-of-23) from the floor, including a 33.3 % (5-of-15) effort from three-point territory.
The two sides traded points throughout the third quarter as West Chester kept the lead right where it was for much of the frame. The Golden Rams ended the third on a 7-0 run, which helped the team carry a comfortable 57-34 lead into the fourth quarter.
Bloomsburg started the fourth with another made three by Stevenson and outscored West Chester 11-10 in the final 10 minutes, but the Golden Rams never relinquished their commanding lead, rolling to the 22-point victory.
After shooting tremendously well in the first half, West Chester ended the game with a 42.6 % (23-of-54) field goal percentage, including a 4-for-12 (33.3 %) effort from three-point range. The Golden Rams also shot 85.0 % (17-of-20) from the line in the victory.
On the other side, Bloomsburg ended the game shooting 28.8 % (15-of-52) from the field as the Golden Rams held their hosts under 28 % shooting from the floor in three of four quarters on Wednesday night. The Huskies shot 32.0 % (8-of-25) from three-point range and also went 7-for-11 (63.6 %) from the line in the setback.
West Chester ended the game with a 40-31 lead in rebounding, including 12 offensive rebounds, which led to a 10-8 lead in second-chance points. The Golden Rams also finished the game with a 32-12 lead in points in the paint.
Notes:
Tonight's victory improved West Chester to 7-10 at Bloomsburg since the 2007-08 season while also serving as the team's third consecutive win in the series against the Huskies.
Johnson continued her climb through the record book on Wednesday night, moving within 21 points of tying the career scoring record held by Brittany Sicinski while also moving within five points of passing Dallas Ely for second all-time in scoring, heading into her 109th game as a Golden Ram on Saturday afternoon. Ely finished her Golden Ram career with 1,607 career points in 111 games, while Sicinski finished with 1,624 in 113 games wearing the Purple and Gold.
Up Next:
West Chester will put its winning streak to the test against PSAC East leader Lock Haven on Saturday afternoon, beginning at 1 p.m. in Hollinger Field House, as the Golden Rams begin the second half of PSAC East play.
