West Chester vs Wilmington
Game Details: November 18 I 5:30 p.m.
Location: Hollinger Field House (West Chester, Pa.)
Coverage Links: Live Stats I Watch
Series: 12-0 (W12)
WCU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Wilmington Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Last Time Out
West Chester was hopeful that returning to the Keystone State would bring different fortunes as the Golden Rams traveled to Holy Family on Thursday night for the third and final game of their three-game road trip to open the season. West Chester struggled in the first quarter and found itself down 15 before it scored its first basket and down 19-8 after 10 minutes in a 70-54 setback to the Tigers. West Chester battled down the stretch and outscored its hosts 34-32 in the second half as Anna McTamney scored a game-high 22 points to eclipse the 1,000-point marker for her career, but it was not enough to bring the Golden Rams back in an eventual losing effort. Kozicki scored in double figures for the third game in a row to open the season, pouring in 15 points of her own, and Erin Daley chipped in eight, but West Chester shot just 31.6 % from the field and 21.4 % from beyond the arc, while being outrebounded 42-32 and committing 19 costly turnovers in the 16-point loss.
Flock Talk
Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua) and Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) lead West Chester in scoring this year, averaging 18.0 and 17.0 points per game, respectively. Kozicki and Erin Daley (Lafayette Hill, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) lead the team in rebounding, averaging 6.0 and 5.7 rebounds per game. At the same time, Alainna Hopta (York, Pa./West York) is tied for first on the team with Ava Mazur in assists, averaging 2.0 helpers per game. West Chester enters play averaging 60.3 points per game on 35.3 % shooting from the field and 20.0 % from beyond the arc. West Chester has been deadly at the line, making 81.3 % of its free throws through three games this season.
Home Court Advantage
West Chester is on a 24-game home winning streak, which is a program record. The Golden Rams streak started after a January 2023 loss to Shippensburg, and the team has not lost in Hollinger since. WCU entered the year with the third-longest winning streak in DII but has since climbed to second after an early-season loss by Tampa. West Chester trails only Harding, who has a 26-game streak going.
First Quarter Struggles
After being a dominant first-quarter team a year ago, West Chester has struggled out of the gate this year, leading after the first just once (vs. Charleston) and trailing by double digits (17 vs. WVSU, 11 vs. HFU) after 10 minutes in both other meetings.
Learning As We Go
West Chester turns to two freshmen in its starting lineup as the Mazur twins (#3 Ava & #5 Bella) have earned the starting nod in each of the first three games this season. This marks the first time that WCU has turned to a pair of true freshmen on a consistent basis since 2019-20, when Leah Johnson and Sasha Marvel were in the starting five together.
It’s Been 18 Years
West Chester has not started its season 0-3 since the 2006-07 season. West Chester has not started its season 0-4 since the 2005-06 season.
New Faces
West Chester welcomed four new players to its roster in 2024-25, including freshman twins Ava and Bella Mazur, Aaliyah Soliday, and junior transfer Sanai Moore. The Golden Rams also added former Shepherd star Marli McLaughlin to the coaching staff for the 2024-25 season.
Early Respect
WCU was picked second in the PSAC East Preseason Coaches poll with one first-place vote as voted upon by the other coaches around the league. Lock Haven, who enjoyed a tremendous season last year, enters as the preseason favorite to repeat.
Happening Pregame
Before Monday night’s game, West Chester will recognize Anna McTamney for scoring her 1,000th collegiate point in the setback at Holy Family on Thursday night. McTamney scored 199 of her 1000 career points in her rookie season at the now-closed University of the Sciences.
Honoring the Legends
Fans will notice a new court design for the 2024-25 season as West Chester completed a refinishing of the Hollinger Field House floor over the Summer to make it now bear the name of legendary basketball coaches Dick DeLaney and Deirdre Kane. Kane-DeLaney Court, as the floor shall henceforth be known, was formally unveiled to the Community in mid-September at a special ceremony after the project was announced during a doubleheader against East Stroudsburg last January.
Series History
West Chester hopes to halt its season-opening losing streak on Monday night as the Golden Rams welcome Wilmington to Hollinger Field House for a 5:30 p.m. tip. West Chester has one each of its first 12 meetings with Wilmington, including a dominant 69-21 victory in Hollinger last November. When the two teams met last year, West Chester held a 19-2 lead heading into the second quarter and stretched the advantage to as many as 50 with just under four minutes to play in the fourth. Michelle Kozicki scored 16 points in the first half to lead 12 Golden Rams who scored in the victory.
Scouting Wilmington
For its part, Wilmington enters play on Monday night, looking for its first win of the season as well. Wilmington fell to 0-3 under first-year head coach Dave Cranston on Wednesday night with an 86-45 setback at the hands of Lincoln. Trailing by six after the first, Wilmington was down 38-17 at the half and could not climb out of this deficit in the 41-point setback. The Wildcats shot 23.5 % from the field and 25.9 % from deep in the loss while also going just 14-for-22 at the free throw line and committing 33 costly turnovers.
For the year, Wilmington is averaging just 46.0 points per game on 29.9 % shooting from the field, 25.3 % from beyond the arc, and 70.5 % from the charity stripe, while opponents average 84.3 points per game on 48.7 % shooting from the field and 35.9 % from deep. Wilmington has also consistently found itself on the wrong end of the rebounding and turnover battles, entering play with -13.6 (43.3-29.7) and -11.0 (25.3-14.3) margins in each category. Jasmine McDuffie leads the Wildcats in scoring and rebounding, averaging 13.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, while freshman guard Mya Nisbet leads the team in assists, averaging 3.3 helpers per game.
