West Chester vs Bloomsburg
Game Details: January 25 I 1 P.M.
Location: Hollinger Field House (West Chester, Pa.)
Coverage Links: Live Stats I Video
Series: 44-45 (4-1 in last five)
WCU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Bloomsburg Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Last Time Out
West Chester (8-10, 5-6) fell at Mansfield on Wednesday night by a 77-72 final. The Golden Rams got off to a slow start offensively and found themselves down 24 late in the second quarter before trailing 47-27 heading into the locker room. West Chester was far from finished as the Golden Rams mounted a furious second-half comeback, which saw them take the lead midway through the fourth and pull back to within one with 30 seconds to play in a 77-72 setback on Wednesday night. West Chester outscored its hosts 20-12 in the third and 24-18 in the fourth after opening the frame on a 13-0 run to erase a 12-point deficit heading into the fourth. Michelle Kozicki picked up her 10th double-double of the year with 35 points and 10 rebounds, along with a team-high four blocks, while Anna McTamney scored 12 points with seven rebounds, four steals, and three assists. West Chester shot 38.0 % (27-of-71) from the field and 27.8 % (5-of-18) from three-point range while also going 13-for-21 (61.9 %) from the line.
Flock Talk
Kozicki ranks second in the PSAC in scoring, averaging 20.9 points per game, while her 10.1 rebounds per game is fifth best in the league. The senior forward has 10 double-doubles to her name, including six in the last eight games, which ranks her in a tie for fifth in D2 in double-doubles while also ranking second in the PSAC. Emily Chmiel leads the PSAC and D2 in double-doubles with 13 to start the season. Kozicki has also scored 35 points twice since December 17, becoming the first player to score 35 points or more twice in the same season since Leah Johnson, who, along with Mitzi Reitnouer, are the only two other Golden Rams to accomplish this feat. Anna McTamney, is second on the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 15.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. McTamney is eighth in the league in scoring, making West Chester the only team to place two players in the top 10 in the league in scoring. Ranking third on the team in scoring, Bella Mazur has been a great addition to the Golden Ram lineup in her rookie campaign, averaging 9.4 points per game thanks in part to six double-digit scoring efforts in eight games and seven such efforts in eight home games this season.
As a team, West Chester averages 67.4 points per game on 39.8 % shooting from the field and 27.2 % from three-point range. West Chester also leads the PSAC and ranks third in Division II in free throw shooting, connecting on 80.4 % of its attempts at the stripe.
We Love Free Stuff
West Chester is third in DII in free throw percentage, shooting 80.4 % at the line this season. WCU has hit over 70.0 % in 15 of 17 games and 80.0 % or better in 10 of 15, including a season-high 92.0 % effort vs Lock Haven.
Double Double Machine
Kozicki now has 10 double-doubles on the year, which is tied for fifth in DII and second in the PSAC Emily Chmiel (ESU) leads the PSAC and DII with 13. Kozicki ranks second in the PSAC in scoring, averaging 20.9 points per game, while her 10.1 rebounds is fifth best.
Working Overtime
West Chester’s OT win over East Stroudsburg was the Golden Rams third OT win in three such games already this season, marking the first time since 2015-16 that West Chester has played three overtime games in one year. The victory at ESU also marked the first time since 2009-10 that West Chester has won three OT games in one year and the first time since 2008-09 that West Chester has won each of its first three OT games of the season.
Series History
West Chester is 44-45 all-time vs Bloomsburg after winning each of the last four meetings and five of the last eight dating back to the 2019-20 season. West Chester’s road win over Bloomsburg in January 2020 was the Golden Rams first road win over the Huskies since January 2018. It was the team’s first win over Bloomsburg since a January 2019 victory in Hollinger. West Chester has not lost to Bloomsburg at home since February of the 2022 season when the Huskies escaped with a narrow 67-55 win over the Golden Rams.
West Chester is 40-12 (.769) at home since November 2021, and the Golden Rams are 34-5 (.871) at home since November 22. This includes the team’s 27-game winning streak at home, which was halted in December after starting in January 2023.
Scouting Bloomsburg
Bloomsburg (12-6, 6-5) scrapped its way to a 58-56 OT victory over Shepherd on Monday night behind 15 points and nine rebounds from senior forward Katie Starr. The Huskies trailed by two after the first quarter but held an eight-point lead at the half after outscoring their guests 18-8 in the second quarter to seemingly seize control of the game. Far from over, Shepherd countered with a 21-12 third-quarter effort, which gave the Rams a 41-40 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The fourth was the lowest-scoring quarter of the night as the two teams combined for just 19 points, but it was enough for Bloomsburg to force overtime with the score tied at 50-50. In OT, Bloomsburg outscored its guests 8-6 to escape with a narrow 58-56 home victory and improve to 6-5 in East play. Led by the 15 points from Starr, Bloomsburg shot just 34.5 % from the field, including 27.3 % from deep, while also going 14-for-20 (70.0 %) at the free throw line.
For the year, Bloomsburg averages 66.6 points per game on 43.0 % shooting from the field, including 31.4 % from deep, led by a 15.4 point-per-game average from Starr, who also leads the team in rebounding, averaging 7.3 rebounds per game. Ella Kale is second on the team in scoring, averaging 10.1 points per game, while also leading the team and league in assists, averaging 5.5 per game. Bloomsburg holds a slim 35.9-35.6 lead in rebounding along with a slim 17.7-16.8 lead in turnovers, thanks in part to a 7.4 steal per game average, led by an average of two steals per game by Starr.
