WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua) tied for the game lead in scoring with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting, along with 12 rebounds to help lead the West Chester University women's basketball team (19-5, 14-4) to its 11
th win in a row with a 46-39 triumph over Kutztown (12-12, 10-8) on Wednesday night.
Prior to the game, West Chester had the opportunity to honor
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) for becoming the Golden Rams new career-leading scorer in a victory over Shepherd last week.
Kozicki was one of three Golden Rams in double figures in the victory as Johnson finished with 10 points along with seven assists and six rebounds, while
Emily McAteer (Thornton, Pa./Garnet Valley) came away with 12 points and eight rebounds in a hard-charging victory for the Golden Rams.
West Chester led for just over three-quarters of the victory on Wednesday night, leading by as many as 17 late in the third after a 13-0 run in the middle of the third gave the team some much-needed separation after leading by just five (24-19) at the half. This lead did not prove to be as safe as the Golden Rams would have liked it to be as Kutztown went on an 11-0 run in the fourth that nearly brought the Golden Bears all the way back, but West Chester held on for the seven-point home victory.
With this win, West Chester stretched its home winning streak to a program record 21 in a row, surpassing the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons for the longest home winning streak in program history. Tonight's victory also gives WCU its first season sweep of Kutztown since the 2017-18 season
West Chester found itself behind early in the first quarter but closed the opening stanza on a 10-0 run over the last five minutes to carry a 13-6 lead into the second quarter, led by six early points from McAteer.
West Chester shot just 33.3 % (4-of-12) from the field in the first quarter and improved this effort slightly in the second quarter, shooting 41.7 % (5-of-12) from the field. Unfortunately for West Chester, Kutztown also improved its offensive production in the second, shooting an even 50.0 % (5-of-10) from the field after going just 2-of-12 in the first quarter to cut the West Chester lead to 24-19 heading into the halftime break.
McAteer led all scorers in the first half, finishing with 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting while also going a perfect 4-for-4 at the line through the first 20 minutes of action.
For Kutztown, Shannon Remolde led the Golden Bears in scoring with seven points on 2-of-4 shooting, with both makes coming from three-point range. Leila Hurley and Olivia Smelas chipped in six points each to help bolster the Kutztown offense.
In the third quarter, West Chester outscored its guests 14-2 for much of the frame before a late 5-0 run by Kutztown cut the Golden Ram lead to 38-26 heading into the fourth.
Kutztown mounted a final comeback in the fourth, going on an 11-0 run midway through the period, which cut the West Chester lead to just three (42-39), but West Chester closed the game out on a 4-0 run to escape with a 46-39 victory on Wednesday night.
West Chester ran its winning streak to 11 in a row on Wednesday night with a 34.0 % (18-of-53) effort from field goal range while connecting on 20.0 % (3-of-15) from three-point range and 7-of-10 (70.0 %) from the line.
Kutztown shot 30.2 % (13-of-43) from the field in the loss, including a 6-of-22 (27.3 %) effort from three-point range while also connecting on 7-of-8 (87.5 %) from the line.
Hurley led the Golden Bears in scoring, finishing with 13 points, while Remolde and Smelas came away with 10 each in the setback.
West Chester ended the game with a 41-25 lead on the glass, including a 12-1 advantage on the offensive glass, which translated into a 6-0 lead in second-chance points. West Chester also ended the game with an 18-14 lead in points in the paint, a 10-7 lead in points off turnovers, and a 10-0 advantage in points off the break.
Up Next:
Tonight was the Golden Rams lone game of the week as the team will not play again until next Wednesday night at home against Shippensburg beginning at 5:30 p.m. in their final home game of February.
