PHILADELPHIA- After opening its season at home last weekend, the West Chester University women's basketball team (1-1) is preparing for its first road game of the regular season as the team heads to La Salle (3-1) on Tuesday night for a 6:30 opening tip against the Division I (A10) Explorers.
West Chester at La Salle
Game Details: November 18 I 6:30 P.M.
Location: John E. Glaser Arena (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Series: 2-3
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About Last Weekend
West Chester opened the season 1-1 over the weekend with a 72-33 victory over Salem on Friday night before falling to Glenville State 71-68 on Saturday afternoon. Friday night's victory over Salem marked the second time in the last three seasons that West Chester has opened the year with a win and was also the largest margin of victory in a season opener for Wooden's charges since a 102-55 victory over Concordia in November 2014 in what was Wooden's first game as head coach.
Kimi Sayson (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional) and
Bella Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional) tied for the team lead in scoring on Friday night with 11 points each.
On Saturday against Glenville State, West Chester led for just over 25 minutes and got a breakout performance from
Lena Stein (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) as the freshmen went for 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting and 13 rebounds as one of three Golden Rams in double figures, but it was not quite enough in a narrow 71-68 loss.
Erin Daley (Lafayette Hill, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) and Mazur were second on the team in scoring with 13 points each, along with five assists each. Glenville State outscored West Chester 22-14 in the fourth quarter, including an 11-0 run late to erase a deficit that was as many as 13 late in the third quarter and escape with a 71-68 victory. Nwando Okigbo led the Pioneers in scoring and rebounding with 13 points and 13 rebounds as Glenville State shot 36.2 % (25-of-69) in the loss, including a 28.6 % (10-of-35) effort from three-point range, while also connecting on 11-of-14 (78.6 %) at the free throw line. One of the best free-throw shooting teams in Division II in recent years, West Chester was just 5-for-9 (55.6 %) at the stripe on Saturday, while shooting 44.1 % (30-of-68) from the field and 18.8 % (3-of-16) from three-point territory.
Flock Talk
West Chester heads into the second week of the regular season averaging 70.0 points per game on 43.1 % shooting from the field, with a 24.3 % effort from three-point range, along with a 67.9 % mark at the charity stripe. West Chester has held its opponents to just 52.0 points per game on 30.9 % shooting from the field, while also outrebounding opponents 49.0-32.5 (+16.5), which has resulted in a 25-14 advantage in second-chance points.
Individually, Mazur leads the team in scoring, averaging 12.0 points per game, while also ranking second in assists, averaging 3.5 per game. Stein is close behind in scoring, averaging 11.5 points per game, while leading the team in rebounding (9.0/g) and steals (3.5/g). Daley leads the team in assists, averaging 4.0 per game, and is third in scoring (9.0/g), second in rebounding (6.5/g), and tied for second in steals (1.5/g).
Youth Movement
West Chester is starting three freshmen in 2025 as
Lena Stein (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley), Jordin Tate (Wilmington, Del./Caravel Academy), and Kimi Sayson (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional) all begin their careers as starters for Wooden's Golden Rams. Fellow freshmen
Alivia Mauz (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) and
Amelia McMichael (Butler, Pa./Butler) are some of the first players off the bench for Wooden this year as well. West Chester has scored 140 points (70.0/G) through its first two games, and the newcomers have accounted for 78 (55.7 %) of that scoring as Sayson led the team with 11 points in her college debut on Friday before Stein recorded the first double-double of the year with 17 points and 13 rebounds on Saturday against Glenville State.
The Painters
After outscoring opponents in the paint in 24-of-30 games last year (936-522), West Chester is right back at its old tricks this season, outscoring opponents 84-36 in the paint through the first two games of the season.
It's Been a While
Aside from Tuesday's game being the first meeting between the two squads since 1981, it is also West Chester's first regular-season game against a Division I foe since December 2021 at George Washington.
Big Five Connections
West Chester was Saint Joseph's first opponent of the year on November 4, as the team fell to the Hawks in an exhibition for the Golden Rams, 69-46, after trailing by just three at the half.
West Chester also has
Marianna Papazoglou (North Wildwood, N.J./Wildwood Catholic) as a weapon off the bench as the graduate student is a Penn transfer who earned her degree in Psychology and Urban Education before joining the Golden Rams.
La Salle assistant coach Chris Day is also a WCU alum and was a member of both the football and track and field squads during his time as a Golden Ram.
Give Us Another Chance
West Chester is outrebounding opponents by a 49.0-32.5 (+16.5) margin this season. This rebounding edge has helped West Chester hold a 25-14 lead in second-chance points through the first two games, including a 14-9 advantage on Saturday vs. Glenville State.
Wooden Against Division I
Wooden is 0-2 against Division I competition in regular-season games, including a 61-42 loss at Liberty in January 2019 and a 64-31 loss at George Washington in December 2021.
Series History
After winning the first two known meetings in the mid-1970s in the AIAW era, West Chester has lost the last three games against La Salle, with the last loss coming in December 1981 by an 84-67 final to trail the all-time series 3-2.
Scouting La Salle
La Salle heads into Tuesday night's matchup at 3-1 on the season after opening the year on a three-game winning streak with victories over Loyola (Md.) (71-59), Saint Francis (84-73), and Lehigh (81-70) before falling at Temple on Friday morning by a 75-54 final. At Temple on Friday, La Salle found itself tied at 13 after the first quarter but trailed by 10 at the half after being outscored 21-20 in the third quarter and could never erase this deficit as the homestanding Owls steadily extended their lead throughout the afternoon en route to a 75-54 victory. Aryss Macktoon scored a team-high 16 points, followed by Ashleigh Connor and Kiara Williams with 14 and 11, respectively. La Salle shot just 32.3 % (21-of-65) from the field, including a 1-for-15 (6.7 %) effort from deep, while also going 11-for-15 (73.3 %) at the free throw line. The Explorers were also outrebounded by a 54-34 margin in the loss.
Connor and Macktoon lead La Salle in scoring, averaging 19.5 and 19.3 points per game, while Joan Quinn is third in scoring, averaging 11.8 points per game. Macktoon is also first in rebounding and steals, averaging 7.0 rebounds and 4.8 steals per game, while Quinn is first in assists, dishing out an average of 4.3 assists per game.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action on Sunday afternoon against California (Pa.) in a non-league clash at 1 p.m.
