WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) scored a game-high 27 points on 11-of-19 shooting to help guide the second-seeded West Chester University women's basketball team (24-5) to a dominant 69-42 victory over third-seed Kutztown (15-15) in the PSAC Quarterfinals on Wednesday night.
Before the game, West Chester honored senior forward
Emily McAteer (Thornton, Pa./Garnet Valley) for scoring her 1,000
th career point in a West Chester uniform, accomplishing this impressive feat in just two seasons wearing the Purple and Gold after starting her career at Loyola (Md.).
West Chester never trailed on Wednesday night, jumping out to a 15-0 lead thanks to 12 early points from McTamney and stretched its lead to as many as 36 with just over three minutes to play in the fourth en route to a 22-point Quarterfinal victory.
With tonight's win, West Chester moved one win shy of tying its program record for wins in a single season while also stretching its overall winning streak to 16 in a row and 24 straight in Hollinger, dating back to January of the 2023 season. Tonight's win also helped West Chester make its second consecutive PSAC Semifinal appearance after advancing to the Semifinals for the first time since 2018 a year ago.
McTamney was one of three Golden Rams in double figures.
Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) scored 14 points and had a team-high six assists and five rebounds in a wire-to-wire victory. McAteer was the third and final Golden Ram in double figures, finishing with 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting and 10 rebounds in the victory.
West Chester shot 47.2 % (25-of-53) from the field in the victory, including a pair of makes from three-point range. West Chester also shot 68.0 % (17-of-25) from the line in the victory, including a 14-of-19 effort in the second half.
West Chester roared out of the gates in the first quarter, taking an early 15-0 lead led by 12 points from McTamney in the first eight minutes of action.
Kutztown scored its first points of the game with a step-back three from Naia Pulliam with just over one minute to play in the first quarter and carried a 19-3 lead into the second.
Early in the second, West Chester stretched its lead to as many as 26 with 2:49 to play until halftime when McAteer hit a layup to give West Chester a 34-8 lead. Kutztown scored the final six points of the first half to carry a 20-point (34-14) lead into the halftime break.
West Chester shot 50.0 % from the field in the first and second quarters, shooting 15-for-30 to open the game while also going 1-for-4 (25.0 %) from three-point range. Six Golden Bears found their way onto the scoresheet for Kutztown, led by three points each from Pulliam and Taylor Gurysh.
Kutztown shot just 23.1 % (6-of-26) from the field in the first half, including a 2-for-12 (16.7 %) effort from three-point range. It was also outrebounded by a 25-13 margin through the first 20 minutes of action.
The second half started slowly for both teams. The two sides mustered just eight points through the first six minutes, but West Chester held a 39-17 lead with four minutes remaining in the frame. West Chester carried a 44-22 lead into the fourth after shooting just 28.6 % (4-of-14) in the third quarter.
West Chester put together a much better fourth quarter offensively, scoring a game-high 25 points to roll to a dominant 69-42 victory over Kutztown. West Chester shot an impressive 66.7 % (6-of-9) from the field and 50.0 % from three-point range while also going 12-for-15 from the free throw line down the stretch of the victory.
Naia Pulliam scored 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting as the lone Kutztown player in double figures.
After turning in a solid shooting performance to beat Mansfield in the First Round on Monday night, it was a much different story for Kutztown on Wednesday as the Golden Bears shot just 28.3 % (15-of-53) from the field, including a 9.1 % effort in the first quarter as the Golden Rams defense stifled their guests in the first 10 minutes. West Chester, a dangerous three-point shooting team, held Kutztown to just 18.2 % (4-of-22) shooting from three-point range while also going 8-for-16 at the free-throw line in the setback.
West Chester dominated the glass throughout the night and ended the game with a 41-31 lead in rebounding, including a 14-13 edge on the offensive glass, which resulted in a 9-6 lead in second-chance points. West Chester also ended the game with a 32-16 lead in points in the paint and a 16-7 lead in points off the break.
Up Next:
West Chester will now shift its attention to the PSAC Semifinals on Saturday afternoon in Lock Haven against nationally-ranked Gannon beginning at 1 p.m.
