EDINBORO, Pa.- Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) scored a game-high 24 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field and a 12-for-12 effort at the line, but it was not enough to help lead the West Chester University women's basketball team (1-5, 0-2) to its first league win of the year as the Golden Rams fell to Edinboro (5-1, 2-0) by a 75-67 final on Saturday afternoon.
West Chester trailed by as many 20 midway through the third quarter but cut the deficit down to just four with under a minute to play after a pair of late threes by
Rachel Conran (Springfield, Pa./Springfield). Edinboro closed the game out at the free throw line to escape with an eight-point victory over the visiting Golden Rams.
Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua) was the lone other Golden Ram in double figures with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting while also going a perfect 1-for-1 from deep as the Golden Rams were just 5-for-17 (29.4 %) from three-point territory in the setback.
West Chester shot 40.0 % (20-of-50) from the field in the loss, after an 8-for-15 (53.3 %) effort in the fourth quarter to nearly storm back and shock the Fighting Scots. West Chester also continued to be very efficient at the line, shooting 91.7 % (22-of-24) at the stripe in the setback.
West Chester battled throughout the early stages and was down just one (14-13) with under five minutes to play in the first quarter. A 10-0 Edinboro run gave the hosts a commanding 24-13 lead with a minute to play in the first quarter as the Fighting Scots carried a 24-15 lead into the second.
The Golden Rams continued to battle in the second quarter but trailed 41-30 at the half and found themselves down by 20 midway through the third quarter before cutting the deficit back down to 15 (57-42) after a layup by
Ava Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional) for the final points of the third.
West Chester outscored its hosts 25-18 in the fourth and cut the deficit down to as few as four after a late three by Conran made the score 71-67 with 39 seconds to play. Edinboro scored the final four points of the game at the free throw line after a pair of 2-for-2 trips by Ava Haddad and Morgan Gentile put the game out of reach in the final seconds.
Morgan Gentile led Edinboro in scoring with 23 points and was one of four Fighting Scots in double figures in the victory.
Edinboro shot 39.7 % (23-of-58) from the field and 23.5 % (4-of-17) from three-point range while also going 25-for-32 (78.1 %) at the free-throw line.
The Fighting Scots ended the game with a 42-26 lead in rebounding and a 15-16 lead in the turnover battle, which allowed them to outscore the Golden Rams 18-16 in points off turnovers and 17-4 in second-chance points.
Up Next:
West Chester will be back in action on Sunday, December 1, against Jefferson, beginning at 1 p.m. in Hollinger.
