West Chester at East Stroudsburg
Game Details: January 8 I 5:30 P.M.
Location: Koehler Field House (East Stroudsburg, Pa.)
Coverage Links: Live Stats I Video
Series: 85-33 (W6)
WCU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
ESU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Last Time Out
West Chester was back in action last night in its 2025 and PSAC East home opener vs Lock Haven. 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. Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) scored a career-high 33 points, including 16 points at the free throw line, while Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua) 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. Lock Haven was led by a 22-point, 14-rebound double-double 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.
Flock Talk
As a team, West Chester enters play on Wednesday night, averaging 66.6 points per game on 39.6 % from the field, including a 25.9 % effort from deep, while also shooting a PSAC-best 80.5 % at the free throw line. West Chester shot a season-best 92.0 % at the stripe last night, sinking a season-high 23 in its first PSAC East setback of the 2024-25 season. The Golden Rams, led by a 10.1 rebound per game average by Kozicki, which is fourth best in the PSAC, average 38.4 rebounds per game, outrebounding opponents by +0.3 on the season. After a rocky start to the year in the turnover battle, West Chester has cleaned things up significantly in recent weeks, trailing its foes by just -0.1 (18.4-18.3) in the turnover battle, averaging 16.4 points per game off turnovers.
Individually, the trio of Kozicki, McTamney, and Mazur have been difficult to stop this season, averaging 20.1, 16.2, and 9.2 points per game, respectively. In addition to ranking fourth in the PSAC in rebounding, Kozicki also ranks second in the PSAC in scoring, trailing only Emily Chmiel of East Stroudsburg, who is first in the league in scoring, averaging 23.7 points per game, while ranking second in rebounding, averaging 11.0 per game. Ava Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional) and Bella continue to rank first and second on the team in assists, averaging 3.9 and 2.3 per game, respectively. Kozicki leads the team in both blocks and steals, averaging 0.8 blocks and 1.8 steals per game, respectively.
Bella Can Ball
Bella Mazur has had a strong start to her collegiate career, ranking third on the team in scoring, averaging 9.2 points per game. Mazur has scored in double figures six times in her rookie season, including three of the last four and five times in six home games.
Chasing 1,000
Following her career night on Monday, she scored 33 points, including 16 points at the line (16-of-17) at the charity stripe. McTamney is now 19 points away from her 1000th career point as a Golden Ram. West Chester is scheduled to present a ball to Kozicki at the Golden Ram's next home game on Saturday, January 11, against Kutztown and may well present a second ball to McTamney on this day as well, should she reach the milestone on Wednesday night.
We Love Free Stuff
West Chester is ranked sixth in Division II women’s basketball in free throw shooting, hitting 80.5 % of its attempts at the line this season after shooting 92.0 % (23-of-25) from the stripe on Monday night vs Lock Haven. West Chester is also first in the PSAC in this category, with Edinboro ranking second in the league at 78.9 % from the stripe, which is 11th best in Division II.
Working Overtime
West Chester picked up its second OT win on December 17 at Pitt-Johnstown, which marks the first time since 2015-16 that WCU has won two OT games in the same season. (1/23/16 Def. LHU; 2/10/16 Def. ESU). WCU played in OT twice in 2019-20 and has not played in OT more than twice since 2015-16 when the team went 2-1 in the extra period.
Series History
Winners of each of the last six, West Chester holds a commanding 85-33 lead in the all-time series. In addition to the six-game streak, West Chester has won seven of 10 and has not lost to ESU in East Stroudsburg since February of the 2019-20 season.
Scouting ESU
East Stroudsburg (5-7, 2-4) enters play on Wednesday night looking for its second consecutive win and second PSAC East win of the year after opening East play with a 68-65 victory over Shepherd on Monday night. Against Shepherd, East Stroudsburg got 33 points from the PSAC’s leading scorer, Chmiel, along with 16 rebounds as the senior forward continues to turn in an excellent 2024-25 season. Similar to West Chester’s win over Shepherd on Friday night, ESU led 18-12 after the first quarter but found itself trailing heading late in the fourth before a Lacie Kringe layup with 2:28 to play gave the Warriors their first lead of the frame. ESU fell behind by one once again moments later before a three-point play by Kringe gave the host Warriors a lead they would never relinquish. ESU shot 45.5 % from the field and 33.3 % from beyond the arc while also outrebounding Shepherd 42-35 in the Monday-night victory.
Monday night’s game will feature two of the top scorers and rebounders in Division II women’s basketball as the Warriors are led by Chmiel and her 23.7 points per game scoring average, while Kozicki leads West Chester, averaging 20.1 points per game to rank 11th. Chmiel and Kosicki also rank 10th and 22nd in DII in rebounding, averaging 11.0 and 10.1 rebounds per game, respectively. Kringe is second on the Warriors in scoring, averaging 7.9 points per game, while Corrin Gill leads the team in assists, averaging 4.0 per game.
As a team, ESU averages 62.0 points per game on 40.8 % shooting from the field, including 22.4 % from three-point range, while also connecting on 70.8 % of its attempts at the line. ESU’s opponents average 62.8 points per game on 38.9 % shooting from the field and 30.3 % from three-point land. ESU also outrebounds opponents by a 37.1-35.8 margin and holds an 18.5-17.0 advantage in the turnover battle.
