WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua) picked up her ninth double-double of the season with 23 points and 11 rebounds to help lead the West Chester University women's basketball team (8-9, 5-5) to a 73-59 victory over Shippensburg (7-10, 3-7) on Saturday afternoon.
Before the game, West Chester recognized
Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) for scoring her 1,000
th point as a Golden Ram in the victory over Kutztown last Saturday afternoon.
West Chester trailed for under three minutes and never trailed again after the first quarter while leading by as many as 15 midway through the second in the 14-point victory. Shippensburg mounted a second-half comeback, which saw the Raiders cut the deficit to one early in the fourth, but West Chester outscored its guests 18-7 down the stretch, including 14-3 over the final five-and-a-half minutes to earn the victory.
Kozicki was one of three Golden Rams in double figures, joined by McTamney
and Bella Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional), who finished with 16 and 14, respectively.
Kozicki also tied with Mazur for the team lead in assists with three each, while McTamney led the team in steals with three.
Taja Colbert led Shippensburg in scoring with 15 points, while Mia Johnson and Abbie Miller chipped in 14 points each in the loss.
West Chester shot 44.2 % (23-of-52) from the field, including 41.7 % (5-of-12) from three-point range, and went 22-for-26 (84.6 %) from the line in the victory.
For its part, Shippensburg shot 41.2 % (21-of-51) from the field, including a 5-for-13 (38.5 %) effort from deep. Shippensburg also went 12-for-18 (66.7 %) from the line.
In the first quarter, Shippensburg shot 90.0 % (9-of-10) from the field to open the game, but West Chester was 11-for-14 from the field, including a perfect 4-for-4 from deep to carry a 31-22 lead into the second quarter.
Kozicki led West Chester in scoring in the first quarter with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting while also going a perfect 3-for-3 at the line, along with eight points from Mazur.
West Chester held Shippensburg scoreless through the first six minutes of the second quarter and stretched its lead to 15 (37-22) with 6:30 to play until halftime. Kozicki's step-back jumper, which gave her a first-half best 13 points, was the Golden Rams final basket until the final 10 seconds of the first half as Shippensburg used a 10-0 run to cut the Golden Ram lead to 37-32 with 20 seconds remaining.
Rachel Conran (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) scored her first points of the half with six seconds to play until the break from three-point range, which extended the Golden Ram lead to 40-32 heading into the halftime break.
After shooting nearly 80.0 % from the field in the first quarter, West Chester shot just 23.5 % in the second quarter. Heading into the halftime break, West Chester shot 48.4 % (15-of-31) from the field, including a 5-for-9 (55.6 %) effort from deep. West Chester was also 5-for-5 from the line in the first 20 minutes.
For Shippensburg, Taja Colbert led the Raiders in scoring with 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting. The Raiders shot just 20.0 % in the second quarter as well, shooting 48.0 % (12-of-25) for the game, including a 50.0 % (3-of-6) from deep, while also connecting on 5-of-7 (71.4 %) from the line.
West Chester ended the first half with a 10-5 lead in turnovers, a 13-1 lead in points off turnovers, and a 16-12 lead in points in the paint.
West Chester took a 51-39 lead with under three minutes to play after a pair of makes at the free throw line by Kozicki. Shippensburg cut the deficit to seven in short order after back-to-back makes, prompting a WCU timeout late in the frame.
Shooting 38.5 % (5-of-13) from the field and 5-for-8 from the line in the quarter, West Chester carried a 55-47 lead into the fourth.
Shippensburg opened the fourth on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to just one (55-54) with 7:49 to play, prompting an early Golden Ram timeout. West Chester got its lead back to 63-57 with under two-and-a-half to play. West Chester went on an 11-3 run to take a 70-59 lead in the waning seconds of regulation.
Despite little doubt as to the game's outcome, Shippensburg chose to foul down the stretch, and West Chester capitalized, rolling to a 73-59 victory on Saturday afternoon.
West Chester ended the game with a 21-12 lead in rebounding, a 22-6 lead in points off turnovers, and a 32-22 lead in points in the paint.
West Chester was outrebounded 35-29 in the victory, although West Chester still ended the game with a 12-6 lead in second-chance points. West Chester also finished the game with an 11-7 lead in points off the bench, led by eight from
Ava Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional).
Up Next:
West Chester will be back in action on Wednesday night at Mansfield at 5:30 p.m.
