PHILADELPHIA- The West Chester University women's basketball team (1-2) was back in action on Tuesday night at Division I La Salle (4-1), falling to the Explorers by an 83-50 final.
Marianna Papazoglou (North Wildwood, N.J./Wildwood Catholic) led West Chester in scoring in the loss as she finished with 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting, including a 2-for-6 effort from beyond the arc.
West Chester found itself behind 12-0 just over two minutes into the game as the Explorers came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders, led by five early points each from Kiara Williams and Ashleigh Connor. West Chester closed the quarter on a 16-8 run, which began with a
Lena Stein (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) layup and concluded with a buzzer-beating three by Papazoglou
, which banked home to cut the La Salle lead to 20-16 heading into the second quarter.
In the second, La Salle outscored West Chester 12-0 through the first seven-and-a-half minutes, culminating with a put-back layup by Aryss Macktoon with 2:29 to play in the half, which prompted a Golden Ram timeout. La Salle stretched its lead to 34-16 before
Jordin Tate (Wilmington, Del./Caravel) scored the first points of the quarter for the Golden Rams at the line with a 2-for-2 trip to the line, which made the score 34-18 with just over a minute to play until halftime. La Salle scored the final points of the half to carry a 38-18 lead into the halftime break.
West Chester shot just 26.9 % (7-of-26) from the field in the first half, including a 0-for-8 effort in the second quarter, while also going 1-for-11 (9.1 %) from deep in the half. West Chester was 3-for-4 (75.0 %) from the line and was led by five points from Tate.
La Salle shot just 33.3 % (12-of-36) from the field, including a 0-for-8 effort from three-point range, while also going 14-for-19 (73.7 %) at the free throw line. Connor led La Salle in scoring in the first half with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field, along with a 5-for-6 effort at the line. Connor also corralled eight rebounds, which was tied with Macktoon for a first-half high.
West Chester found its footing offensively in the third quarter, scoring 23 points to La Salle's 24 as West Chester trailed 62-42 heading into the fourth quarter. West Chester shot 55.6 % (10-of-18) from the field in the third, including a made three by
Alivia Mauz (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) before Papazogolu hit her second buzzer beater of the night to end the frame. Initially ruled a three, the basket was corrected to a two after official review, leaving West Chester down 20 after 30 minutes.
In the fourth quarter, La Salle stretched its lead to as many as 35 with under five minutes to play in an 83-50 victory over the visiting Golden Rams.
West Chester shot 31.1 % (19-of-61) from the field in the loss, including a 3-for-28 (10.7 %) effort from three-point range, while also shooting 90.0 % (9-of-10) from the free throw line.
La Salle shot 40.6 % (28-of-69) from the field, including a 1-for-16 (6.3 %) effort from beyond the arc, while also going 26-for-33 (78.8 %) from the free throw line.
Led by a pair of double-doubles from Macktoon (17 points/14 rebounds) and Connor (18 points/12 rebounds), La Salle ended the game with a 52-36 lead in rebounding and had four members of its starting five in double figures. Connor led all scorers with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting, while Macktoon had 17, Williams had 16, and Joan Quinn added 13 of her own.
La Salle also ended the game with a 21-15 lead in turnovers and a 30-10 lead in points off turnovers, along with a 52-16 lead in points in the paint, a 25-11 lead in second-chance points, and a 19-7 lead in points off the break.
West Chester's bench was led by 10 points from Papazoglou and outscored the Explorers' second unit 22-17. Tate and
Kimi Sayson (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional) had seven points each.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action on Sunday afternoon at home against California (Pa.), beginning at 1 p.m.
