WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Currently riding the sixth-longest winning streak in Division II women's basketball, the West Chester University women's basketball team (22-5, 17-4) returns home today for a Senior Day & Pink Zone matchup against rival Bloomsburg (8-19, 6-15) presented by Barnaby's Restaurant and Pub beginning at 1 p.m.
Today is the regular-season finale for both Bloomsburg and West Chester and is the first of at least two straight at home for the Golden Rams as the Purple and Gold will remain home for a PSAC Quarterfinal vs. an opponent yet to be determined next Wednesday night. Fans must purchase tickets for this quarterfinal online, and cash will not be accepted. Fans can begin purchasing tickets now via this
link.
Earlier this week, Assistant Sports Information Director Larry Messler caught up with head coach
Kiera Wooden and graduate student guard
Leah Johnson for an interview to talk about the 2023-24 regular season, the impending playoff push, and some of the history the Golden Rams have made and hope to continue to make this season. Check out that full interview
here.
Fans are encouraged to arrive early and be in their seats by 12:45 on Saturday afternoon as West Chester will celebrate its eight-player senior class beginning at 12:45 p.m.
SERIES INFORMATION
West Chester enters its regular season finale looking to push its winning streak to 15 in a row and move one game closer to evening the all-time series against Bloomsburg. Despite winning each of the last three meetings, including a sweep a year ago, West Chester trails 45-43 all-time against the Huskies due to a streak that saw WCU drop 5-of-6 from the 2018-19 season through the end of the 2021-22 campaign. Earlier this season, West Chester traveled to Bloomsburg and emerged victorious by a 67-45 final after outscoring the Huskies 18-8 in the first quarter and 22-14 in the second. This strong first-half effort gave West Chester a lead Bloomsburg could not overcome in the 22-point victory.
Emily McAteer (Thornton, Pa./Garnet Valley) led West Chester in scoring in this victory, pouring in 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting, while also pulling down eight rebounds.
Leah Johnson was the lone other Golden Ram in double figures, finishing with 15 points in the victory.
FLOCK TALK
West Chester enters off a tense victory on Wednesday night, which saw West Chester erase a halftime deficit for just the second time this season to earn a 10-point (69-59) victory over Millersville. West Chester held a two-point lead after the first but trailed by two at the half after shooting just 13.3 % from the field in the second quarter. The Golden Rams were much improved in the third, shooting 52.9 % in the frame to outscore Millersville 22-17 and carry a lead back into the fourth. In the fourth, West Chester stretched its lead to nine early, but Millersville would not go away, cutting the deficit back down to two (61-59) before West Chester was able to put the game away at the line with four perfect trips to the stripe
. Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) scored a season-high 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting to go along with a 16-point/10-rebound double-double from
Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua) as two of four Golden Rams in double figures as
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) and
Briana Seltzer (Reading, Pa./Reading) joined with 11 and 10 points each.
Winners of the last 14 and 22 in a row at home, West Chester is sixth in Division II women's basketball in both overall and home winning streak while also leading the PSAC in both streaks. Just before the start of the Golden Rams game at Millersville on Wednesday night, the Division II women's basketball committee released its second regional rankings of the year, ranking West Chester seventh in the Atlantic Region, placing West Chester on the bubble for a spot in the NCAA Tournament when that begins later in March. Before West Chester can concern itself with NCAA Tournament dreams, the Golden Rams, who rank second in the PSAC in scoring (71.7/g) and points allowed (54.5/g), must first focus on the PSAC Tournament, which begins with a home Quarterfinal against the winner of the 3/6 game next Wednesday night. While the entirety of the PSAC Tournament field is set, only the top two seeds in the PSAC East are secured, meaning seeds three through six will not be determined until play is complete tomorrow afternoon. Kutztown and Millersville are battling for the third seed, entering the day with records of 11-10 and 10-11, while Mansfield and East Stroudsburg are fighting for the fifth and sixth seeds at 8-13 and 7-14 in league play, respectively.
West Chester ranks 10
th in DII in both scoring margin and scoring defense, entering play with a +17.2 margin, which also ranks second in the PSAC, trailing only Gannon, who boasts the top defensive unit in the league. As a team, West Chester shoots 43.1 % from the field and 28.5 % from three-point range while also shooting a blistering 77.8 % from the line, which is best in the PSAC and 11
th in DII. Sharing the ball has continued to be a specialty for West Chester this season as the purple and gold rank first in the PSAC in assists per game, averaging 15.6 helpers per game, led by Johnson, who averages a stellar 5.9 assists per game that stands as sixth best in DII.
SCOUTING BLOOMSBURG
At 8-19 on the year, Bloomsburg narrowly missed out on a spot in the PSAC Tournament and enters on Saturday hoping to spoil the Golden Rams senior day celebration to end the year with a win and avoid a two-game losing streak to end the year. For Bloomsburg fans, the 2023-24 season has come full circle in a way as the Huskies started their season with a visit to Hollinger as a participant in the Carol Eckman Memorial Classic presented by Hampton Inn of Exton/Downingtown. The Huskies went 1-1 on opening weekend, dropping their opening game to Livingstone College before bouncing back in a big way with an impressive day two victory over Elizabeth City State University.
On Saturday afternoon, Bloomsburg will look to bounce back in its regular-season finale from a 60-38 loss against PSAC East Regular Season Champion Lock Haven on Wednesday night. Against Lock Haven, Bloomsburg outscored its hosts 11-10 in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough to overcome just 17 points in the first half and a 21-10 deficit in the third quarter alone as the Bald Eagles cruised to the 22-point victory. Bloomsburg shot just 23.5 % from the field in this game, including a 22.2 % effort from three-point range, while also hitting 12-of-17 at the line. The Huskies did win the turnover battle by a 19-15 margin but found themselves on the wrong end of a 47-29 deficit in rebounding despite a nine-rebound effort by Katelin Starr. Starr led Bloomsburg in scoring (9), rebounds (9), blocks (2), and steals (3), while Emma Kale dished out a team-best five assists in the setback. This production is on par for Bloomsburg this year as Starr has been one of the most dangerous offensive players in the league, averaging 17.6 points per game, which is tied with McAteer for third-best in the PSAC. Starr also leads the team and ranks among the PSAC leaders in rebounding, averaging 8.3 per game, while Kale is the team's leader in assists, averaging 3.8 per game. Starr also leads the team in steals, averaging 2.2 thefts per game.
As a unit, Bloomsburg enters play averaging 59.7 points per game on 39.7 % shooting from the field and 30.2 % shooting from beyond the arc while also connecting on 72.9 % from the line. Defensively, Bloomsburg allows an average of 67.1 points per game on 43.8 % shooting from the field and 35.5 % from three-point territory while also trailing by a 36.1-31.4 (-4.7) margin in rebounding and a 16.7-15.5 (-1.2) margin in the turnover battle.
UP NEXT:
West Chester will look to end the regular season with a victory and shift its attention to the PSAC Tournament, beginning with a home quarterfinal on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Fans must purchase tickets via this
link.
