LOCK HAVEN, Pa.- Despite leading for much of the first half and by 12 at the break, the No. 21 West Chester University women's basketball team (8-5, 3-4) was unable to avoid a loss to open PSAC East play, falling to Lock Haven (12-1, 7-0) by a 79-76 final in overtime on Saturday afternoon.
West Chester led for nearly 37 minutes of regulation, but a late 12-8 run by Lock Haven forced overtime, and the Bald Eagles would never trail in the extra session, holding the Golden Rams off for a 79-76 victory on Saturday afternoon.
Emily McAteer (Thornton, Pa./Garnet Valley) had a career day on Saturday afternoon, finishing with a career-high 33 points on 13-of-21 shooting to go along with nine rebounds and three blocks, while
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) added 19 of her own along with 11 from
Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua) in the setback. Johnson's 19 points also moved her over 1,500 points for her career, becoming just the third Golden Ram to cross the 1,500-point threshold and the first to do so since Dallas Ely and Brittany Sicinski. With 1,505 career points, Johnson is just 51 points shy of third all-time, which is currently held by Kiesha Mack, while also moving 119 points away from the scoring record.
Jenadia Jordan nearly matched McAteer's production for Lock Haven, finishing with 29 points to pull the upset over the Golden Rams. Alana Robinson finished with a double-double, scoring 16 points along with 11 rebounds, four assists, and four steals, while Rhlyn Rouse scored 13 on Saturday afternoon.
West Chester jumped out to an early lead, taking a 6-0 lead out of the gate thanks to four early points by McAteer before extending its advantage to 18-6 by the end of the first quarter.
McAteer led all scorers in the opening 10 minutes, scoring eight points, while Kozicki and McTamney added four each to help West Chester jump out to an early lead.
Looking to avoid its first PSAC loss of the 2023-24 season, Lock Haven upped its pressure in the second quarter, forcing the Golden Rams into a handful of quick turnovers and cutting the WCU lead from 22-9 to 22-13 with under six minutes to play. West Chester halted the Bald Eagle run with a
Briana Seltzer (Reading, Pa./Reading) steal and a quick layup down the other end by Kozicki, but the hosts answered back quickly with a three to cut the WCU lead back to eight (24-16).
With just under five minutes to play in the first half,
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) scored her first points with a jumper, giving West Chester a 28-16 lead with under four-and-a-half minutes remaining in the half. West Chester kept the lead right where it was as the half progressed, carrying a 35-23 lead into the halftime break.
McAteer led all scorers in the first half, finishing with 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting, while Kozicki had 11 points and five rebounds in the opening 20 minutes of action. West Chester shot 51.7 % (15-of-29) from the field to lead by 12 heading into the half.
Out of the halftime break, Lock Haven answered back with an impressive third-quarter performance, which saw the Bald Eagles outscore West Chester 24-13, shooting an outstanding 57.1 % (8-of-14) from the field, including a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range to cut the Golden Ram lead to 48-47.
West Chester opened the fourth quarter on a 7-2 run, which allowed the visitors to take a 55-49 lead with seven minutes to play. The Golden Rams held a six-point lead over the next few minutes of action before the Bald Eagles evened the score at 57-57 and eventually retook the lead with under four minutes to play. Despite the late run by the Bald Eagles, West Chester held a 63-61 lead with 35 seconds to play after a layup by McAteer, but a Janadia Jordan layup with 26 seconds to play in regulation forced overtime to decide a victor.
Lock Haven never trailed in OT, jumping out to an early lead and keeping West Chester at bay throughout the final five-minute frame, escaping with a 79-76 victory to remain unbeaten in PSAC play.
West Chester shot 40.8 % (31-of-76) from the field in the setback, including a 16.7 % (2-of-12) effort from beyond the arc, while also shooting 80.0 % (12-of-15) from the line. For its part, Lock Haven shot 41.0 % (25-of-61) from the field, including 40.0 % (6-of-15) from three-point territory and 82.1 % (23-of-28) from the line in the victory.
Despite the setback, West Chester looked more like its old self on Saturday afternoon, ending the game with a 47-37 lead in rebounding, including a 19-9 lead on the offensive glass, which led to a 23-13 lead in second-chance points. Lock Haven did win the turnover battle, forcing West Chester into 14 while committing just 12 of its own; however, the two sides ended the game tied at 11-11 in points off turnovers, while the Golden Rams finished the contest with a 40-26 lead in points in the paint.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action on Wednesday night against Shepherd beginning at 5:30 in its first home game of the 2024 half of the schedule.
