WEST CHESTER, Pa.- After returning to the PSAC Tournament for the ninth time in 10 seasons under the tutelage of head coach
Kiera Wooden, the West Chester University women's basketball team enters the 2025-26 season looking to build off last season and make another run in March. The 2025-26 Golden Rams will be the definition of a young group but there is plenty of reason for optimism around this squad as the new season gets underway on Friday evening vs Salem at 5 p.m. West Chester will open its season with the 37
th Carol Eckman Memorial Classic in Hollinger Field House on Friday and Saturday as the Golden Rams take on Salem on Friday at 5 pm before hosting Glenville State on Saturday at 3 p.m.
"I'm happy with what I've seen so far," said head coach
Kiera Wooden when asked about her first impressions of her 2025-26 squad. "We had a few good scrimmages and exhibitions, and we go to see this new team in a lot of different situations/against a lot of different levels and styles of play. We are going to be a young group this season, so the scrimmages also gave us a chance to see what works and what doesn't, and what our rotation is going to look like to start the season. We know we still have things to work on, but we are gearing up for what it's going to look like on Friday when we get going against Salem," explained Wooden.
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Fan Information
This season, West Chester basketball games will be cashless. Similar to WCU football games, tickets should be purchased via
wcupatix.com/athletics. WCUPATIX.com is the only authorized ticket purchasing site for regular season West Chester basketball games. Fans are advised that purchasing tickets through third-party sites such as VividSeats does not guarantee entrance into Golden Ram Athletic events. Ticket prices remain $10 for general admission and $5 for students (K-12) and seniors (65+), with anyone with a WCU ID being admitted free of charge. The Carol Eckman games this weekend will be free admission.
Last Time We Saw Them
Last season, West Chester finished 15-15 overall and 11-10 in league play, advancing to the PSAC Quarterfinals for the seventh time in nine appearances under Wooden.
Preseason Prognostications
West Chester was picked to finish in the PSAC East preseason coaches poll, trailing Lock Haven, Kutztown, and Bloomsburg. Millersville rounded out the top five, followed by East Stroudsburg, Shippensburg, Shepherd, and Mansfield.
In the PSAC West, Gannon, who was ranked fifth in the WBCA Preseason Poll, was the unanimous favorite, followed by Seton Hill, Indiana (Pa.), California (Pa.), and Clarion. Edinboro, Slippery Rock, and Pitt-Johnstown rounded out the PSAC West.
The full preseason poll is available
here.
Flock Talk
If West Chester is to go on a similar run to 2025 and return to the PSAC Quarterfinals and beyond, the Golden Rams will need to replace their two leading scorers and First Team All-League selections in
Michelle Kozicki and
Anna McTamney, who, along with
Rachel Conran, accounted for 1,186 of the team's 1,957 points a year ago.
"It's never easy to replace over 1,100 points, but I love this group, including my incoming class," said Wooden. "This group plays so hard on both ends of the floor, is very unselfish, eager to learn, and coachable. We are going to be a really deep team this year, and even though we might not get a 600-some point season from one player, I think the larger group can more than make up for it."
Bella Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional) will need to be a big part of this effort as the sophomore guard is the team's leading returning scorer, averaging 8.9 points per game (266 points) in her rookie season. In her first season as a Golden Ram, Mazur had stretches where she looked every bit the part of a top guard for the Golden Rams, scoring in double figures 12 times in 30 games, including a stretch of six double-figure efforts in seven games from late 2024 through the beginning of 2025.
Mazur is one of three returning starters for West Chester as captains
Alainna Hopta (York, Pa.) and Erin Daley (Lafayette Hill, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) both return to the squad in 2025-26. Daley is expected to start alongside Mazur after averaging 8.6 points and 5.9 rebounds a game last season. Hopta averaged 3.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per game last season, while also posting the best assist-to-turnover ratio on the team at 1.53.
The returning portion of Wooden's starting five is expected to be the combination of Daley and
Bella Mazur. Asked about this duo, Wooden said, "They are still both young but have definitely developed and grown. Erin went from one role as a freshman to being a captain and starter for us as a junior. She is a high-IQ player who really enjoys playing defense and is a great front-court combination with Jordin. Bella is a flat-out scorer and also plays good defense. She does a good job feeding off her defensive stops and has really incorporated the ability to create for others."
Ava Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional) will also look to build upon her rookie season as one of the first players off the bench, at least to start the 2025-26 season, as she averaged 4.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game, along with a team-best 3.3 assists per game in 26 games with eight starts.
Sofia Coleman (Dresher, Pa./Gwynedd Mercy Academy) and
Kyla Glasser-Hyman (Inzai Chiba, Japan/Hightstown) also return and add important depth in 2025-26.
Aaliyah Soliday (Upper Providence, Pa./Spring-Ford) remains an open question for the Golden Rams as the sophomore guard, who came to West Chester heralded for her shooting ability, battled injuries a year ago, which prevented her from seeing the floor during her rookie season.
Wooden also talked at length about a pair of returners who saw time in the starting five for much of last season in Hopta and
Ava Mazur. Wooden said, "Hop is our other captain and is a great leader. She has really turned into a vocal leader for us and is a player who works hard and will do anything we ask of her as hard as she can. Ava had a great start to her career before she got hurt and missed a few games, and had a longer recovery from that than she was hoping for. She is a different type of point guard than Kimi, as she is a scorer first and can really stretch the floor. She is starting to come into the facilitator role for us and has really been focusing on showing us her versatility early on this season."
New Faces
West Chester welcomes a talented group of newcomers, led by a pair of transfers in Penn transfer
Marianna Papazoglou (North Wildwood, N.J./Wildwood Catholic) and Stevens transfer
Zoe Kashner (Wilmington, Del./Sanford). In addition to this group, West Chester, who featured three freshmen in its starting lineup at Saint Joseph's last Tuesday, welcomes six talented freshmen in
Macie McCracken (North Wildwood, N.J./Wildwood), Kimi Sayson (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional), Lena Stein (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley), Alivia Mauz (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown), Amelia McMichael (Butler, Pa./Butler), and Jordin Tate (Wilmington, Del./Caravel).
Asked about her second unit, Wooden had good things to say about the entire group and what they can bring to the table. Asked specifically about the impact of a player like Papazoglou, who played at Penn for three seasons, Wooden said, "She has a really high basketball IQ and clearly loves the game of basketball. It's fun to see her back out there and having fun. Liv Mauz is another underrated young player who I think is set to have a phenomenal season. She has a quick first step and can do a lot with the ball."
Sayson, Tate, and Stein were all part of the Golden Ram starting lineup last week and are expected to be in this position for much of the season. Mauz was also one of the first Golden Rams off the bench for Wooden and company last Tuesday night.
Asked about her young starting five, which is expected to feature three freshmen in Tate, Sayson, and Stein, Wooden spoke highly of all three, saying, "Jordin is a tough post player who doesn't mind physicality and likes to play both ends of the floor. Kimi is a great floor general-type player who controls tempo and pace really well. She is also the type of player who doesn't let what is going on offensively dictate her work defensively. She wasn't getting her shots to fall at Saint Joseph's, but she took three charges and kept playing great defense. Lena is another tough player who just gets after it on both sides of the ball. She is someone that I can put on any player and know I will get a strong defensive effort against."
Return to Tradition
West Chester will start its season with the 37
th Carol Eckman Memorial Classic as the Golden Rams welcome Kutztown, Glenville State, and Salem to Hollinger Field House this weekend. The last time West Chester opened its season at home with this event was the beginning of the 2023-24 campaign, when the Golden Rams hosted Bloomsburg, Elizabeth City State, and Livingstone.
West Chester is 45-25 in the Eckman in its history, while Glenville State is 3-1 as the lone other team to have played in this season-opening event. Kutztown and Salem will both be making their Carol Eckman Memorial Classic debuts on Friday afternoon.
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West Chester is 1-0 against Salem, with the first and only other known meeting between the two teams being a 2018 victory in Hollinger, while the Golden Rams are 2-9 against Glenville State, with the last meeting being an 88-63 loss to the Pioneers in the Atlantic Regional Final of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
Glenville State was picked to finish third in the Mountain East Conference preseason coaches poll, as announced by the league office in early October. The Lady Pioneers are led by returning MEC Freshman of the Year Nwando Okigbo, who averaged a double-double a game (12.1 PPG; 10.8 RPG) a year ago and shot nearly 40 % from the field. Ashlyn Riley and Stevi Yancy also return after averaging 8.0 and 6.4 points per game a year ago. Third-year head coach Emily Stoller hit the recruiting trail hard and brought in seven transfers along with four high school signees, led by Carine Pinkney, who transferred in from Salem, after averaging 17.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game last year for the Tigers. Khalia Bryant is another big name to watch as she joins the Lady Pioneers from Kentucky State, where she averaged 10.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
Led by new head coach Corey Hines, Salem will be an almost entirely new group, as the 2025-26 Tiger roster is laden with transfers and true freshmen.
Now it Counts
Fans got a first look at the 2025-26 Golden Rams earlier this month when the team visited Saint Joseph's for what was the season-opener for the Hawks and a final exhibition for the Golden Rams before the new season. West Chester gave its hosts all they were looking for and more in this early exhibition, leading by three after the first and trailing by just three at the half after a late three by Hawks to break a 26-26 tie. The start of the second half remained close early until Saint Joseph's used a brief but effective press to create multiple Golden Ram turnovers and allow the Hawks to outscore their guests 19-10 in the third en route to a 69-46 victory.
Marianna Papazoglou (North Wildwood, N.J./Wildwood Catholic) impressed as she scored 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting to lead the Golden Rams in scoring.
Asked about what she saw out of her group against the first of two Division I foes this year, Wooden said, "I saw us play hard and have good execution there for large spurts. I loved our defensive efforts, and I thought we were locked in, especially in the first half. Most of all, I loved the resilience and determination I saw out of the group and how they weren't scared of the moment."
The Slate
After its first weekend against Salem and Glenville State, the West Chester University women's basketball team will head out on the road on Tuesday night to take on La Salle at 6:30 p.m. before hosting California (Pa.) on Sunday, November 23. After Thanksgiving, West Chester will visit Jefferson on November 30 at 1 p.m. before opening league play against Pitt-Johnstown on December 6. West Chester will wrap up non-league play on December 16 on the road at Wilmington at 6 p.m. before concluding 2025 at home against Gannon and Clarion on December 20 and 21, with the opening tip set for 1 p.m. on both days.
Asked about her challenging non-league slate, which includes perennial Division II power and a Division I foe for the first time since 2021, Wooden said, "I've always been a coach who believes in challenging my teams. No matter what the roster is or how young we are, I always want to throw everything at my team so you can go through adversity early and respond to it. I think if I can make the non-league slate challenging and show a lot of different styles, we will have seen everything by the time league play comes around, and we will be ready for anything."
West Chester will open 2025 with a trip West to take on Indiana (Pa.) and Seton Hill at 3 p.m. on January 2 and 3 before opening league play on January 7 at Mansfield at 5:30. West Chester will play its first home game of 2026 on January 10 against Shippensburg at 2 p.m. on what will also be Alumni Day.
Home Sweet Home
West Chester will open its home slate this weekend and look to continue its strong record of success in Hollinger as the Golden Rams are 34-5 at home since January 2023 and enjoyed a 27-game home winning streak, which was briefly the best in Division II women's basketball before the streak was halted in early December last year.
