Women's Basketball Looks to Extend Winning Streak to 10 in a Row at East Stroudsburg on Saturday

EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa.- After clinching a spot in the PSAC Tournament following a 77-66 victory over Shepherd on Wednesday night, the West Chester University women's basketball team (17-5, 12-4) has shifted its attention to its next foe in East Stroudsburg (7-13, 5-10) as the Golden Rams visit the Warriors on Saturday afternoon beginning at 1 p.m.

West Chester, who will be making its third consecutive PSAC Tournament appearance and ninth in 10 seasons under head coach Kiera Wooden, is currently one of just two teams in the Eastern Division to secure a spot in the Tournament so far, joining first-place Lock Haven on the exclusive list.

 SERIES INFORMATION

West Chester continues its week away from Hollinger this afternoon as the Golden Rams visit East Stroudsburg looking for their sixth win in a row and third consecutive season series sweep of the Warriors. West Chester picked up a 31-point victory in the first meeting earlier this season, which improved the team to an impressive 83-33 all-time against ESU. The Golden Rams have not lost to ESU since the 2019-20 season when the team fell by a 57-41 final as part of a three-game losing streak against the Warriors.

 FLOCK TALK

After a big win over Lock Haven on Saturday afternoon to open February, West Chester took to the road on Wednesday night to square off against its newest rival in Shepherd. West Chester got out to an early lead in the first quarter and never trailed en route to a 77-66 victory over the Rams. West Chester held a 16-point (44-28) lead at the half, but Shepherd would not away quietly battling back in the second half and cutting the deficit to single digits multiple times before West Chester eventually got some late-game separation at the free throw line to earn the 11-point victory. Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) scored a season-high 28 points and set more history in the process, breaking the WCU career scoring record late in the first half with a pull-up jumper, which gave her 1,626 points for her career, surpassing the record previously held by Brittany Sicinski (1,624). The grad student flirted with a triple-double for much of the night, finishing with eight rebounds and six assists to help the Golden Rams improve to 17-5 overall, 12-4 in league play, and 4-5 in games away from Hollinger.

Johnson continued her historic career on Wednesday night as she broke the West Chester career scoring record with her 28-point effort, which increased her career total to 1,643 points as she passed Sicinski. Averaging 15.4 points per game, the veteran guard is second on the team in scoring so far this season; however, she has shown herself to be much more than just a pure scorer throughout her career. Already the Golden Rams career assist leader as well, Johnson averages 5.8 assists per game, which ranks sixth in Division II women's basketball, while also ranking third on the team in rebounding, averaging 5.4 per game. Rebounding represents the one area that the Golden Rams guard is still chasing an individual statistical milestone, entering play on Saturday 70 rebounds shy of the guard rebounding record, which is currently held by assistant coach Allison Hostetter.  While Johnson is the lone Golden Ram to score in double figures in every game so far this season, and her offensive exploits have been very well documented, the graduate student is far from the only offensive option for the Golden Rams. Emily McAteer (Thornton, Pa./Garnet Valley) leads the team in scoring, averaging 17.4 points per game, which is fourth best in the PSAC, while Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua) is third in scoring, averaging 10.5 per game. Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) is the fourth Golden Ram averaging in double figures this season, averaging 10.0 points per game after scoring in double figures for the 13^th time this season on Wednesday night.

As a team, West Chester ranks among the top units in the league on both sides of the ball, averaging 73.5 points per game offensively, which ranks second best in the PSAC, trailing only Seton Hill, while the Golden Rams defense is also second best in the PSAC, allowing opponents to score just 55.3 points per game. The West Chester offense has been even more impressive in league action, averaging a PSAC-best 73.7 points per game through 16 league games. West Chester is shooting 43.4 % from the field on the year while also averaging 42.3 rebounds per game, which is over 9.5 rebounds per game more than the Golden Rams allow, which is also the best in the PSAC.

 SCOUTING ESU

East Stroudsburg enters play on Saturday afternoon in the midst of a three-game losing streak after falling to Shepherd in its last game back on February 3. Against Shepherd, Izzy Vogel led the Warriors in scoring with 25 points and Chestnut Hill transfer Emily Chmiel picked up a double-double, finishing with 13 points and 12 rebounds but it was not enough to help ESU overcome a stellar third-quarter performance by the Rams as they escaped with a 67-65 victory. East Stroudsburg shot just 36.7 % (22-of-60) from the field in the setback, including a 5-of-13 effort from three-point range. The Warriors also finished the game with a 39-30 lead in rebounding, although the team was once again plagued by turnovers, committing 15 costly turnovers in the setback.

For the year, Vogel and Chmiel have been the top two options for ESU, ranking first and second on the team in scoring, averaging 9.3 and 9.1 points per game, while Chmiel leads the team in rebounding, averaging 6.4 per game. Corrin Gill, who led the team in assists on Saturday with seven, has contributed in that way for much of the 2023-24 season, ranking first on the team in helpers, averaging 3.4 per game. As a team, ESU averages just 51.8 points per game, while allowing opponents to score an average of 60.3 per game. The  Warriors shoot 35.7 % from the field and 24.5 % from beyond the arc on the year, while also finding themselves routinely on the wrong side of the rebounding and turnover battles, entering play with a -1.6 (36.3-34.7) rebounding margin and a -2.4 (18.1-15.7) turnover margin.

 UP NEXT:

West Chester returns to action on Wednesday night at home against Kutztown beginning at 5:30 p.m. in a Valentine's Day night doubleheader presented by McDonald's.