JOHNSTOWN, Pa.- Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua) scored a career-high 35 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field and a 13-of-14 effort at the line along with 12 rebounds, two blocks, and two steals to help lead the West Chester University women's basketball team (4-7) to a 71-64 OT victory over Pitt-Johnstown (1-10, 0-5).
Kozicki's 35 points is the most by a Golden Ram in a single game since
Leah Johnson scored a program-record 44 vs California (Pa.) in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Kozicki joins Johnson as the only two players since 2003 to score over 35 points in a single game. The lone other player to accomplish this feat since 2000 was Kiesha Mack on December 18, 2003, when she scored 36 against Lock Haven.
Emily McAteer was the last Golden Ram to score over 30 points in the game when she poured in 33 against Lock Haven in January of the 2024 season.
West Chester trailed by as many as seven late in the third quarter but erased the 42-35 deficit quickly, opening the fourth on an 8-3 run, which eventually set up an excellent finish. Trailing by three with under a minute to play, Kozicki hit a clutch three in the final 10 seconds of regulation to erase the deficit and force overtime and scored six of the Golden Rams nine points in OT to lead West Chester to its second OT win of the season and month by a 71-64 final.
Similarly to the Golden Rams first OT game of the year against Jefferson, the extra period was all West Chester as the Golden Rams outscored their hosts 9-2. Following this, West Chester has now outscored opponents 24-11 in overtime this season.
Today's victory goes into the books as a non-league win for the Golden Rams while counting as a league loss for Pitt-Johnstown as part of the PSAC's efforts to balance the Eastern/Western Division schedules following the sudden departure of Mercyhurst over the Summer.
Kozicki was one of three players in double figures as
Bella Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional) added 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting along with four rebounds, while
Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) chipped in 13 along with nine rebounds and five assists, which tied with
Alainna Hopta (York, Pa./West York) for the team lead. Hopta also led the team in steals with four in the victory.
West Chester shot 46.0 % (23-of-50) from the field, including a 9-for-14 (64.2 %) effort from the field in the final 15 minutes, despite shooting just 16.7 % (2-of-12) from three-point range. One of the top free-throw shooting teams in Division II, West Chester hit 82.1 % (23-of-28) at the line, including a 13-for-17 (76.4 %) effort in the fourth quarter and overtime.
West Chester found itself down 7-2 early as the Golden Rams were forced into three turnovers through the first three minutes, which led directly to the early deficit and prompted a quick West Chester timeout. Following the timeout, Pitt-Johnstown was whistled for back-to-back fouls, sending Kozicki to the line after the second, which allowed her to cut the deficit back to one score (7-4) in the early stages of the first quarter. These two makes sparked a 6-2 run for West Chester as the Golden Rams continued to cut into the Mountain Cat lead, making the score 9-8 with 5:18 to play in the first. The Golden Rams continued to play well as the first quarter continued, outscoring their hosts 14-9 after the first three minutes of the period on 60.0 % (6-of-10) to head into the second quarter with the score tied at 16-16.
Kozicki accounted for eight of the 16 first-quarter points for West Chester eight of 10 during a run, which saw West Chester flip a 7-2 deficit into a 12-9 lead with 3:21 to play in the period.
Led by 19 first-half points from Kozicki after she scored 11 more in the second, including each of the Golden Ram's last 10 (8-3 WCU run over the last 2:06 of the half), West Chester carried a 33-28 lead into the halftime break.
West Chester shot 52.0 % (13-of-25) from the field, including a 1-for-5 effort from deep, while also 6-for-7 (85.7 %) at the free throw line. UPJ shot 37.9 % from the field in the first half, including a 3-for-16 (18.8 %) effort from three-point range, while also hitting 3-of-5 (60.0 %) at the free throw line.
UPJ opened the second half on an 8-0 run, taking advantage of a cold-shooting start to the third quarter by the Golden Rams. The Golden Rams scored their first points of the half at the line when Mazur knocked down a pair of free throws, which cut the deficit to 36-35 with 6:45 to play in the third. The Mountain Cats responded with a 6-0 run over the next four-and-a-half minutes to take a 42-35 lead, the largest led by either team to that point in the afternoon, which forced a West Chester timeout. West Chester battled back to within three after a driving layup by Mazur and a pair of makes the line from McTamney
, but a late layup by Belle Bosch gave the Mountain Cats a 44-39 lead heading into the fourth.
In the fourth, West Chester opened on a 6-3 run through the first 4:05 to cut the UPJ lead to 47-45 with under six minutes to play.
Erin Daley (Lafayette Hill, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) completed the comeback effort with a pair of makes at the free throw line as West Chester tied the game at 47-47 with five minutes remaining.
Pitt-Johnstown inched out to a 52-50 lead after another Bosch layup with 3:39 to play before stretching its lead to 54-50 with three minutes to play after a successful visit to the charity stripe. Kozicki set a new season-high for points moments later as she scored her 25 and 26
th point of the afternoon with a layup off an assist from McTamney, which cut the deficit to 54-52 with under three minutes to play. McTamney became the third Golden Ram in double figures moments later as she hit a layup of her own and the ensuing free throw after being fouled in the process to give West Chester a 55-54 lead with 1:44 to play. Liv West picked the perfect time for her first made three of the afternoon as she drained a corner three off an assist from Bosch to give UPJ a 60-57 lead with just 25 seconds to play.
McTamney countered this three with a quick pull-up jumper of her own just 11 seconds later, which cut the deficit to one and kept West Chester's hopes alive as the Golden Rams searched for their first road win of the year.
With no choice but to foul, West Chester sent Riley Childress to the line; Childress hit both free throws to restore a 62-59 lead late. Needing a three to extend the game, Kozicki drained a huge three with just over five seconds to play to force overtime to decide a winner.
Kozicki continued her career night with a pair of makes at the free throw line to start overtime and give West Chester the early 64-62 lead. Looking for its second OT win of the year and second of the month after starting December with a 79-73 upset victory over No. 7 Jefferson, West Chester outscored its hosts 9-2 in overtime, led by six more points from Kozicki to triumph by a 71-64 final.
Bosch proved challenging for West Chester throughout the day, scoring 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting off the bench, while Hayden Keith and Lexi Margolis chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively.
UPJ shot just 34.8 % (23-of-66) from the field and 26.7 % (8-of-30) from three-point range, while also 10-for-12 (83.3 %) at the line.
West Chester ended the game with a 40-24 lead in rebounding, although Pitt-Johnstown finished the contest with a slim 18-14 lead in turnovers and a corresponding 20-13 lead in points off those turnovers.
West Chester did finish the game with a 32-28 lead in points in the paint, including a 10-6 advantage in the final 15 minutes.
Up Next:
West Chester will be back in action on Saturday afternoon at home against Seton Hill in its final game of 2024, beginning at 1 p.m. Fans are encouraged to arrive early as the Golden Rams will hold their annual Parent's Appreciation Day pregame, followed by a ceremonial 1,000-point ball presentation to Kozicki. Pregame ceremonies are set to begin at 12:45 p.m.
