MILLERSVILLE, Pa.- Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua) scored 22 points, and
Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) added 20 points of her own, but it was not enough to lead the West Chester University women's basketball team (8-12, 5-8) to a victory over Millersville (12-8, 7-6) as the Marauders used a strong first half to escape with a 69-61 victory over the Golden Rams.
West Chester led early in the first quarter but fell victim to a late-first quarter run, which gave the Marauders a seven-point lead heading into the second,
which they would never relinquish in the eight-point victory.
Tonight's setback halted an eight-game series winning streak for West Chester against Millersville while also extending the Golden Rams losing streak to three in a row and halting the Marauders skid at three games.
Kozicki and McTamney both recorded a double-double for the second time in as many games as Kozicki corralled a game-high 14 rebounds, while McTamney came away with 11. Kozicki also led the team in assists with four, while
Ava Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional) led the team in steals with three.
West Chester jumped out to an 11-7 lead through the first five-and-a-half minutes before Millersville closed the quarter on an 11-0 run to take an 18-11 lead into the second quarter.
The Marauders stretched their lead to 15 by halftime, outscoring West Chester 18-10 in the second quarter on 61.5 % (8-of-13) shooting, including a 1-for-3 effort from deep to hold a 36-21 lead with 20 minutes in the books.
Millersville got its lead up to 16 with 4:16 to play in the third before West Chester rallied down the stretch of the frame to cut the deficit to 49-40 heading into the fourth.
In the fourth, Kozicki scored five points early in the quarter, which cut the deficit down to seven with 7:50 to play before a Kali March layup just under 30 seconds later stretched the lead back to nine early in the fourth. Kozicki answered with another driving layup and drained a free throw after being fouled on the way up to cut the deficit to 54-48. Millersville stretched its lead back 12 with under three minutes to play before a 6-0 Golden Ram run, including multiple Marauder turnovers, got West Chester back to within six (64-58) with 1:28 to play in regulation. The Golden Rams got the deficit down to five (66-61) with under a minute to play, but the Marauders closed the game out at the free throw line to earn the 69-61 victory.
West Chester shot just 30.9 % (21-of-68) from the field and 14.3 % (3-of-21) from deep in the loss. West Chester did end the game shooting 84.2 % (16-of-19) at the line, along with a 42-33 lead in rebounding, including a 16-4 advantage on the offensive glass, which translated into a 12-4 lead in second-chance points.
For Millersville, Kali March led the Marauders in scoring with 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field, along with three rebounds and three assists, while Makiah Shaw chipped in 14 points of her own on 6-of-7 shooting.
The Marauders shot 49.1 % (26-of-63) from the field, including a 37.5 % (6-of-16) effort from beyond the arc. Despite closing out the win at the line, Millersville struggled mightily from the charity stripe on Wednesday night, shooting just 47.8 % (11-of-23) in the victory.
Up Next:
West Chester will be back in action on Saturday afternoon at Lock Haven at 1 p.m.
