WEST CHESTER, Pa.-Erin Daley (Lafayette Hill, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) scored a career-high 19 points and added eight rebounds along with five assists to help lead the West Chester University women's basketball team (7-9, 4-5) to a 68-58 victory over Kutztown (6-10, 2-6) on Saturday afternoon.
Daley was one of four Golden Rams in double figures as
Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh), Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua), and
Bella Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional) all scored 11 points. Kozicki secured a team-high 11 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season.
With her first points of the game to open the second-quarter scoring, McTamney joined Kozicki in the Golden Rams' 1,000-point club as she notched her 1000th career point as a Golden Ram after entering play just one point shy of the milestone.
Before the game, West Chester recognized Kozicki, scoring her 1,000
th point as a Golden Ram in the win at Shepherd on January 3rd, 2025.
West Chester trailed for only two minutes in the Alumni Day victory and led by as many as 20 late in the first half but needed a late-game defensive stand to escape Hollinger with the 10-point (68-58) victory.
West Chester jumped out to an early 7-2 lead and held a slim 9-8 lead with 2:29 to play after a foul on a Kutztown shot led to the first media timeout of the afternoon. A pair of late first-quarter threes by Daley gave her 12 early points and gave West Chester a 19-11 lead heading into the second.
West Chester was 8-for-18 (44.4 %) in the first quarter, including a 3-for-8 effort from deep, while Kutztown shot just 25.0 % (4-of-16) from the field, including three makes from deep.
West Chester continued to outscore Kutztown in the second, stretching its lead to as many as 20 with 2:45 to play before a late 8-0 run by the Golden Bears cut the West Chester lead to 39-27 at the halftime break.
Daley tied her career high in the first half with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including a 3-for-5 effort from deep, while grabbing five rebounds and adding four assists in the first 20 minutes. Kozicki led West Chester in rebounding with eight, including seven on the defensive glass.
West Chester shot 45.7 % (16-for-35) from the field, including 41.7 % (5-of-12) from three-point range. It also went 2-for-3 at the line, with both makes coming in the second quarter.
For Kutztown, Jess Aponik tied Liela Hurley for the team lead, scoring six points each.
Kutztown shot 33.3 % (9-of-27) from the field, including a 7-for-19 (36.8 %) effort from deep. It also went 2-for-4 (50.0 %) at the line, with both makes coming in the second quarter.
Kutztown outscored West Chester 6-2 to open the second half as the Golden Bears eventually trimmed the Golden Ram lead to 45-36 with 4:52 to play in the third quarter. Despite shooting just 30.8 % compared to 50.0 % by West Chester, Kutztown used seven turnovers and 11 points off those turnovers to outscore West Chester 16-13 in the third and cut the lead to 52-43 heading into the fourth.
Kutztown cut the lead back to just three with under five minutes to play after a pull-up jumper in the lane, but West Chester closed the game out with strong work at the free-throw line, shooting 80.0 % (12-for-15) from the line in the fourth quarter to escape with a 68-58 victory.
West Chester shot 43.1 % (22-of-51) from the field and 35.7 % (5-of-14) from three-point range while hitting 19-of-24 (79.2 %) at the line.
For its part, Kutztown shot 35.8 % (19-of-53) from the field, including a 38.9 % (14-of-36) effort from three-point range, while also going 6-for-10 (60.0 %) at the line.
Kutztown finished with three in double figures, led by Naia Pulliam's 13 points and nine rebounds in the 10-point loss.
West Chester ended the game with a 37-31 rebounding lead, which led to an 11-8 lead in second-chance points and a 32-6 lead in points in the paint. Led by nine points from
Ava Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional) and seven from
Rachel Conran (Springfield, Pa./Springfield), West Chester ended the game with a 16-14 lead in points off the bench.
Up Next:
West Chester will have a well-deserved bye on Wednesday before hosting Shippensburg next Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.
