West Chester at Lock Haven
Game Details: Saturday, February 1 I 1 P.M.
Location: Thomas Fieldhouse (Lock Haven, Pa.)
Coverage Links: LIVE STATS I VIDEO I TICKETS
Series: 37-16
WCU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
LHU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Last Time Out
West Chester was back in action at Millersville on Wednesday night, hoping to run its winning streak against the Marauders to nine in a row and halt its losing streak at two games. West Chester jumped out to an 11-7 lead early in the first but found itself down seven (18-11) at the end of the first 10 minutes and could never fully recover as the Marauders stretched their lead to as many as 16 in the 69-61 victory over the Golden Rams. West Chester cut the Millersville lead to five with under a minute to play but never came closer than this as Millersville closed the game out at the free throw line to earn its first victory over West Chester since January 2020. Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua) and Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) continued to be bright spots for West Chester as they both finished with 20+ point double-doubles, scoring 22 and 20 points along with 14 and 11 rebounds, respectively.
Flock Talk
As a team, West Chester enters play averaging 67.3 points per game on 39.4 % shooting from the field and 25.8 % from deep while still shooting a PSAC-best 80.4 % at the free throw line. The Golden Rams still hold a slim 17.9-17.1 lead in turnovers thanks in part to 9.9 steals per game, which helps counteract a 38.2-37.9 deficit in rebounding. West Chester’s opponents average 69.5 points per game on 39.5 % shooting from the field, including 32.6 % from beyond the arc, while also connecting on 72.7 % at the line.
Individually, Kozicki and McTamney continue to lead the way for West Chester, ranking first and second on the team and second/seventh in the PSAC in scoring, averaging 21.2 and 16.0 points per game, respectively. West Chester remains the only team in the PSAC to have two players in top-10 in the league in scoring. After notching her 12th double-double of the year and fifth consecutive, Kozicki remains first on the team and fifth in the PSAC (third in the PSAC East) in rebounding, averaging 10.3 rebounds per game. Ava Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional) remains first on the team in assists, averaging 3.3 per game. Erin Daley (Lafayette Hill, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) has turned in a strong stretch of basketball as well, scoring in double figures twice in the last four games, including a career-high 19 points vs Kutztown on January 11, while also recording five rebounds or more in each of the last five games, including back-to-back nine rebound games against Mansfield (1/22) and Bloomsburg (1/25).
Coming Home
Saturday’s game is the final of a two-game road trip. West Chester returns home for two of its final four home games of the year next week against Shepherd (2/5) and Mansfield (2/8) before traveling to Shippensburg on 2/12 for its lone game of the week.
We Love Free Stuff
West Chester is fourth in DII in free throw percentage, shooting 80.4 % at the line this season. WCU has hit over 70.0 % in 17 of 20 games and 80.0 % or better in 11 of 17, including a season-high 92.0 % effort vs Lock Haven.
Double Double Machine
Kozicki now has 12 double-doubles on the year, which is fourth in DII and second in the PSAC Emily Chmiel (ESU) leads the PSAC and DII with 15. Kozicki ranks second in the PSAC in scoring, averaging 21.2 points per game, while her 10.3 rebounds is fifth best.
Rare Company
Kozicki is also one of just three players since 1982 to score 35 points or more in two or more games in the same season. The lone other Golden Rams to accomplish this feat were Leah Johnson in 2023 (38 vs. WVSU 11/13/22, 44 vs. Cal 3/10/23 *NCAA Tournament) and Mitzi Reitnouer in February 1982 when she scored 37 vs. Drexel on 2/2, 37 vs. ESU on 2/8, and 42 vs. Towson on 2/20.
The Second Round
West Chester opens the second half of PSAC East play on Saturday with a record of 5-8, which leaves the Golden Rams in a tie for fifth in the PSAC East standings. By virtue of wins over Shippensburg and ESU, West Chester would be the fifth seed in the PSAC Tournament if play started today. After ending the first half of East play on a three-game losing streak with losses to Mansfield, Bloomsburg, and Millersville, West Chester will look to bounce back against the PSAC East-leading Bald Eagles on Saturday afternoon.
Working Late
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
When West Chester and Lock Haven do battle on Saturday afternoon, it’ll be the 54th meeting between the two teams in a series that West Chester leads 37-16 after splitting the season series last year and dropping the opener in Hollinger earlier this year.
Last Time They Met
West Chester faced Lock Haven in January in its second game of PSAC East play and home opener. West Chester held a two-point lead at the end of the first quarter, trailed by just one heading into the fourth, and was tied midway through the fourth quarter, but a late 11-0 Bald Eagle run spelled doom as the Golden Rams fell by an 83-73 final. McTamney scored a career-high 33 points, including 16 points at the free throw line, while Kozicki scored 14 of other own on 6-of-11 shooting. Bella Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional) was the third and final Golden Ram in double figures in the loss, finishing with 13, marking the third time in the last four games the rookie has scored in double figures. In a game that featured 20 ties and eight lead changes, West Chester shot 41.4 % (24-of-58) from the field, including an 18.2 % (2-of-11) effort from three-point range, while also going 23-for-25 (92.0 %) at the free throw line. A 22-point, 14-rebound double-double led Lock Haven by Madeline Evans, which was the highest of five Bald Eagles in double figures. Lock Haven shot 47.5 % (28-of-59) from the field, including a 3-for-16 (18.8 %) effort from three-point range, while also shooting 80.0 % (24-of-30) from the charity stripe.
Scouting Lock Haven
Riding a five-game winning streak, Lock Haven (14-5, 9-4) has opened up a sizable lead atop the PSAC East standings as the preseason favorites look to be well-positioned early to repeat as regular season champions. Playing to a mark of 7-3 at home and 7-2 away from home, Lock Haven has found its stride in the New Year as the team is 6-2 since the calendar turned to 2025 and 7-2 dating back to an upset win over No. 4/11 Gannon on December 21. The Bald Eagles only two losses since this win over Gannon came on January 3 in their PSAC East opener at home vs Kutztown by a 68-66 final and on January 11 at home again vs East Stroudsburg by a 64-54 final.
While the Lock Haven men needed triple overtime to hold off Bloomsburg, Lock Haven’s women had no such concerns on Wednesday night as the Bald Eagles held a 16-11 lead after the first and never wavered en route to a 66-47 victory over the Huskies. Jenadia Jordan led Bloomsburg in scoring with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while Alana Robinson added 15 of her on 7-of-13 shooting along with eight rebounds in the victory. As a team, Lock Haven shot 50.9 % (28-of-55) from the field, including a 38.5 % (5-of-13) effort from three-point range, while also going 5-for-8 (62.5 %) at the line in what was nearly a wire-to-wire victory.
As a team, Lock Haven enters play averaging a PSAC-East best 70.4 points per game on 41.4 % shooting from the field and 29.4 % from beyond the arc. The Bald Eagles hit 76.8 % (334-of-435) at the free throw line but truly widen the gap against their opponents through the extra possessions they gain by a +7.9 (39.6-31.7) lead in rebounding and a +2.2 (17.4-15.2) lead in turnovers. Opponents average 59.6 points per game on 37.9 % shooting from the field and 31.3 % from three-point range entering the final full month of the regular season.
Individually, Jordan is first on the team in scoring, averaging 14.8 points per game, while transfer guard Kiera Baughman is second, averaging 14.5 points per game. Madeline Evans, who is in the midst of another sensational sophomore season, averages a double-double, averaging 12.8 points per game, which is third best on the team, while leading the group in rebounding, averaging 10.9 rebounds per game, which is second best in the PSAC. Baughman and Jordan are first and second on the team in assists, averaging 2.9 and 2.8 per game, while Alana Robinson leads the team in steals, averaging 2.1 per game.
