SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.V.- Following a big fourth-quarter performance and a 58-49 victory over Lock Haven to open February, the West Chester University women's basketball team (16-5, 11-4) will embark on its first road trip of the month with a visit Shepherd on Wednesday night for a 5:30 p.m. tip. Wednesday night's clash will be the first of two straight away from home for the Golden Rams as the team heads to East Stroudsburg on Saturday afternoon for a 1 p.m. start against the Warriors.
SERIES INFORMATION
West Chester returns to action on Wednesday for its first road game of February with a visit to Shepherd as the Golden Rams look to extend their winning streak to four and improve to 6-7 all-time vs Shepherd. Earlier this season, West Chester posted an 82-27 victory over Shepherd, which went into the history books as the Golden Rams largest win in HC
Kiera Wooden's tenure, the largest win over any foe since 2001-02, and the largest win over a PSAC team since a 88-27 victory in 1994 over Cheyney.
FLOCK TALK
West Chester turned in its worst shooting performance of the season against Lock Haven on Saturday, finishing the day shooting just 28.8 % and shooting north of 40.0 % in only the fourth quarter. However, the Golden Rams strong fourth-quarter effort proved to be the difference maker as the West Chester defense kept the hosts in the game throughout the afternoon, setting the stage for WCU to break the game open with a 7-0 run and earn a 58-49 victory.
Emily McAteer (Thornton, Pa./Garnet Valley) led all scorers with 19 points and was one of four Golden Rams in double figures as
Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) finished with 14 and 10 rebounds, while
Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua) added 12 points and 11 rebounds to go along with 12 fourth-quarter points from
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame). The Golden Ram bench did not score in the victory, but West Chester ended the game with a +4 lead in turnovers, which turned into a 16-10 lead in points off turnovers in the win. The Golden Rams victory halted DII's longest winning streak (19 games) and handed Lock Haven its first PSAC loss of the season as the 14th-ranked Bald Eagles fell to 19-2 overall and 14-1 in league action.
McAteer ranks among the top scorers in the PSAC, averaging 17.5 points per game, including 22.6 per game since the start of East play, which ranks fourth best in the league. The veteran forward has scored in double figures 16 times this year, including a team-best nine 20+ point performances, which leads the Golden Rams. Johnson is the only player on the squad to score in double figures in every game so far this season following a hard-charging 12-point fourth-quarter effort on Saturday afternoon in the win over Lock Haven. With this effort, Johnson, who was recently named PSAC East Athlete of the Week for the second week in a row after recording her third career triple-double against Millersville on January 29, is now just 10 points shy of the program scoring record, held by Brittany Sicinski. Johnson passed Dallas Ely on the scoring chart on Saturday afternoon, increasing her career total to 1,615 points heading into Wednesday night.
West Chester remains one of the top offensive units in the PSAC, ranking second in the league in scoring, averaging 73.4 points for the year, while averaging 73.5 in league action, which leads the PSAC. The Golden Ram defense has been equally impressive this year, limiting opponents to an average of 54.8 points per game on the year, which is second best in the league, while ranking third in points per game in league play, holding teams to 54.9 per game. The Golden Rams shoot 43.3 % from the field for the year, including a 28.1 % effort from beyond the arc but their best work has come on the glass, as the team enters play with +9.7 (42.7-33.0) lead in rebounding, which also leads the PSAC. McAteer and Kozicki have been a big part of this rebounding effort, averaging 7.0 and 6.8 rebounds per game, which ranks first and second on the squad, while Johnson is third, averaging 5.3 rebounds per.
SCOUTING SHEPHERD
Shepherd enters play on Wednesday night, coming off a win of its own, defeating East Stroudsburg on the road by a 67-65 final after outscoring its hosts 35-24 between the second and third quarters of play. The Rams trailed by five at the end of the first but cut the deficit to one heading into the halftime break and fully erased this deficit in the third, outscoring ESU 20-13 in the frame to take a six-point lead into the fourth. This advantage proved critical as ESU attempted to mount a comeback, outscoring the Rams 21-17 in the frame, but the visitors held on for the two-point victory. The Rams shot an impressive 48.2 % (27-of-56) from the field, including 38.5 % (5-of-13) from three-point range, while also connecting on 8-of-10 (80.0 %) from the line. Freshman forward Carmaya Bowman turned in a clutch double-double, finishing with 16 points and 13 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Bowman was one of five Rams in double figures in the victory as four members of the starting five scored over 10 points to go along with 10 off the bench from Jordan Carr.
Shepherd enters play with a record of 6-14 after winning three of four during the four-game gauntlet last week. Averaging 57.8 points per game, the Rams shoot 36.6 % from the field and 31.6 % from three-point territory on the year, while also finding themselves on the wrong side of a -9.4 (33.7-43.1) rebounding margin and a -3.4 (14.9-18.3) rebounding margin. The youthful guard duo of sophomore Peyton Grant and Kara Wehner have been the offensive leaders for the PSAC's southern-most member so far this year, averaging 16.2 and 14.6 points per game, while Bowman leads the team in rebounding, averaging 6.9 per game. Wehner is also the assist leader for Shepherd, averaging 3.0 per game in the final month of the 2023-24 regular season.
UP NEXT:
West Chester returns to action on Saturday at East Stroudsburg at 1 p.m.
