WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Following the largest opening night victory under head coach
Kiera Wooden since 2014, the West Chester University women's basketball team (1-1) was back in action on Saturday afternoon in a rematch of the 2023 NCAA Atlantic Region Championship game against Glenville State (2-0). West Chester led by as many as 13 late in the third quarter, but a late 11-0 run by the visiting Pioneers was enough to propel the visitors to a narrow 71-68 victory over the homestanding Golden Rams.
In the first quarter, West Chester and Glenville State traded makes early, as the Golden Rams shot a stellar 61.5% (8-of-13) from the field, led by six points from
Bella Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional), as the Pioneers held a slim 20-19 lead after 10 minutes.
The first half featured 12 lead changes and six ties as West Chester closed the half on an 8-0 run to take a 41-36 lead into the halftime break.
West Chester continued its hot first-half shooting effort as the Golden Rams shot 11-of-21 (52.4 %) from the field in the second quarter to shoot 55.9 % (19-of-34) from the field, including one make from three-point range.
Erin Daley (Lafayette Hill, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh had the lone three-pointer in the first half as the junior led all scorers with 11 points, while
Lena Stein (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) added 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while also corralling a first-half best seven rebounds.
West Chester held its guests to just three points for much of the third quarter before a late run by the Pioneers kept it a five-point (54-49) game heading into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter had everything a basketball fan would want from a game, which had been back and forth throughout the afternoon as the game remained tight down the stretch. Glenville State used an 11-0 run late to erase its deficit and take a 67-64 lead with 1:11 to play.
Kimi Sayson (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional) answered back with a big corner three on an assist from Mazur, which cut the deficit to 67-66 with under a minute to play.
Glenville State converted at the free throw line late and took a 71-66 lead, its largest of the game, before a
Marianna Papazoglou (North Wildwood, N.J./Wildwood Catholic) layup cut the deficit to 71-68. West Chester nearly came away with a late turnover, but Glenville State recovered control just in time and held on to avoid falling to the Golden Rams, prevailing by a 71-68 final.
2025 Mountain East Rookie of the Year Nwando Okigbo was as advertised for Glenville State on Saturday, as the sophomore scored a team-best 13 points along with 13 rebounds as one of three Pioneers in double figures. Jayda Allie and Pinkney added 12 points each, along with nine points from Khalia Bryant, as the Pioneers escaped Hollinger with a three-point victory.
Glenville State shot 36.2 % (25-of-69) from the field, including a 28.6 % (10-of-35) effort from beyond the arc, while also going 11-for-14 (78.6 %) at the free throw line.
After shooting well north of 50.0 % in the first half, West Chester shot just 35.3 % (6-of-17) in the third quarter and 29.4 % (5-of-17) in the fourth to shoot 44.1 % (30-of-68) for the game, including a 3-for-16 (18.8 %) effort from deep. One of the best free-throw shooting teams in Division II in recent seasons, West Chester was just 5-for-9 (55.6 %) from the free-throw line in the loss.
Stein led all scorers with 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including her late three-pointer, while Daley and Mazur finished with 13 points each. Stein also became the first Golden Ram to record a double-double this season as she corralled 13 rebounds, including eight on the defensive glass in the setback.
West Chester ended the game with a 50-35 lead in rebounding and a 14-9 lead in second-chance points, along with a 46-26 lead in points in the paint. Glenville State did finish the game with a 24-15 lead in turnovers and a 26-19 lead in points off turnovers, which played a major role in the visitors' late-game comeback. Glenville State also finished the game with a 14-8 lead in points off the break and a 22-13 lead in points off the bench as Payton James led the second unit in scoring with eight points, while
Amelia McMichael led West Chester's bench unit with seven.
Up Next
West Chester will return to action on Tuesday evening at La Salle, beginning at 6:30, before hosting California (Pa.) on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
