WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Emily McAteer (Thornton, Pa./Garnet Valley) led all scorers with 28 points on 13-of-17 shooting while also pulling down six rebounds in a 64-48 senior day victory over Bloomsburg (8-20, 6-16) in front of a great Hollinger Field House crowd on Saturday afternoon.
Prior to the game, West Chester (23-5, 18-4) honored its eight-player senior class of
Jayde Boyd (Pittsburgh, Pa./Oakland Catholic), Alana Boyer (Harrisburg, Pa./Susquenita), Kaziah Ross (Binghamton, N.Y./Binghamton), Briana Seltzer (Reading, Pa./Reading), Emily McAteer (Thornton, Pa./Garnet Valley), Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame), Valerie McGriff (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn), and Morgan Warley (West Chester, Pa./Villa Maria Academy). West Chester also honored graduating athletic training MSAT students Hunter Friedman and Brandon McGlynn and long-time manager Erika Holweg.
Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) was the lone other Golden Ram in double figures in the victory, finishing with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua) led West Chester in rebounding with eight while also posting a team-high six assists in the triumph.
West Chester trailed heading into the second quarter after trailing by as many as seven midway through the first quarter but used a 10-0 run midway through the second quarter to retake the lead and eventually lead by as many as 19 en route to the 16-point victory.
West Chester jumped out to a 2-0 lead after an early layup by McAteer and got several essential stops on the other end to keep Bloomsburg off the scoreboard through the first few minutes. Bloomsburg halted the scoreless streak with a pair of made threes to take an early 6-3 lead. The Huskies stretched their first-quarter advantage to as many as 7 with 4:50 to play after a 9-0, which saw the visitors connect on three straight from beyond the arc.
West Chester rallied back as the first quarter continued, cutting the deficit to 15-11 heading to the second thanks to eight first-quarter points by McAteer.
In the second quarter, West Chester used a 10-0 run midway through the frame to erase the first-quarter deficit and outscore its guests 23-12 in the frame to carry a 34-27 lead into the halftime break.
With just over six minutes remaining in the first half, McAteer made another bit of history as she scored her 1,000
th point as a Golden Ram with a transition layup, giving West Chester a 21-18 lead.
McAteer and McTamney tied for the game lead in scoring at the half, finishing with 14 points each on 6-of-8 and 5-of-6 shooting, respectively. West Chester shot a stellar 69.2 % (9-of-13) from the field in the second quarter, including a 2-of-3 effort from deep to shoot 51.9 % (14-of-27) from the field in the first half and 2-of-7 from beyond the arc. West Chester also went 4-for-7 at the line in the first half, including a perfect 3-for-3 effort in the second quarter.
West Chester opened the second half on a 7-0 run to stretch its lead to 41-27 before a Bloomsburg three cut the deficit back to 11 and prompted a quick West Chester timeout. West Chester held a 14-point lead as the third quarter continued, maintaining a 47-33 lead with four minutes to play in the third. West Chester maintained its lead, leading by as many as 19 early in the fourth quarter en route to a 64-48 victory over Bloomsburg.
Lauren Kirsch led Bloomsburg in scoring in the setback with eight points on 3-of-6 shooting, while Katelin Starr and Maddie LaFrance finished with six points each in the loss.
Bloomsburg shot 40.5 % (17-of-42) from the field and 32.0% (8-of-25) from three-point range while also ending the game with a 60.0 % (6-of-10) effort at the line.
West Chester shot 46.3 % (25-of-54) from the field in the victory, including a 3-for-13 (23.1 %) effort from three-point range. West Chester was also 11-of-16 from the line to complete an unbeaten regular season at home.
Bloomsburg ended the game with a slim 31-28 lead in rebounding, although West Chester finished the game with a 10-8 lead on the offensive glass, which led to an 8-6 lead in second-chance points. West Chester also finished the game plus-nine (19-10) in turnovers, which led to an 18-15 lead in points off turnovers. West Chester also finished the game with a 42-12 lead in points in the paint and a 30-21 lead in points off the bench led by 15 points from McTamney.
Up Next:
West Chester will now shift its attention to the PSAC Quarterfinals vs an opponent yet to be determined in Hollinger on Wednesday night beginning at 5:30 p.m. Fans must purchase tickets online and can do so via this link.
