WEST CHESTER, Pa.-Macie McCracken (North Wildwood, N.J./Wildwood Catholic) scored a career-high 18 on 5-of-9 shooting from the field, including three makes from thre-point range as the West Chester University women's basketball team (5-3, 1-1) fell to fifth-ranked Gannon (11-1, 3-0) on Saturday afternoon by an 82-61 final.
Last time Gannon visited Hollinger Field House in December 2022, West Chester pulled an upset over the nationally-ranked Golden Knights, and it appeared for a while on Saturday afternoon as if this might be in the cards once again in 2025. Close throughout the early going and tied at the half, Gannon outscored its hosts 47-26 in the second half to pull away from the upset-minded Golden Rams and hold on for a 21-point victory.
Marianna Papazoglou (North Wildwood, N.J./Wildwood Catholic) also had a career night with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting, along with four rebounds, while tied for the team lead.
Bella Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional) led the starting five in scoring with 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field.
West Chester found itself down early and trailed 10-3 after the first five-and-a-half minutes of action before ending the quarter on a 10-5 run, keyed by eight off the bench from Papazoglou to trail by just two (15-13) heading into the halftime break.
West Chester took its first lead of the game in the second quarter and led by five with 4:49 to play until halftime after a McCracken three-pointer after a 7-0 run as part of her eight first-half points. Gannon continued to battle in the second quarter as the teams were tied at 35-35 at the half.
West Chester shot a blistering 57.1 % (8-of-14) from the field in the second quarter to shoot 14-of-29 (48.3 %) from the field in the first half. Mazur led West Chester in first-half scoring with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting after hitting just the first basket of the game in the first quarter for the first three Golden Ram points of the day.
Gannon just 40.6 % (13-of-32) from the field in the first half, including a 5-for-12 (41.7 %) effort from three-point range, and was led by 10 points from Kate Ratliff to keep things tied at the break.
Following the same script as its win over Kutztown at home on Tuesday night, Gannon shot a strong 58.3 % (9-of-16) from the field in the third quarter, including two makes from three-point range to outscore West Chester 27-11 and carry a 62-46 lead into the fourth.
West Chester mustered 15 points in the fourth quarter, including an 8-for-11 effort at the free throw line but Gannon stretched its lead to as many as 26 with just over two minutes to play en route to an 82-61 victory over the Golden Rams.
West Chester shot 43.5 % (20-of-46) from the field in the game, including a 5-for-13 (38.5 %) effort from three-point range, while also going 16-for-24 (66.7 %) at the free throw line.
Led by 13 points each from Olivia Peepele and Olivia Cernuto as two of six Golden Knights in double figures, Gannon shot 50.0 % (30-of-60) from the field, including an 11-for-23 (47.8 %) effort from beyond the arc with six of these makes coming in the second half. Gannon also shot 73.3 % (11-of-15) from the free throw line.
Maddy Wheatley narrowly missed a double-double as she finished with 10 points and nine rebounds in the victory.
Gannon ended the game with a 34-30 lead in rebounding and a 13-20 lead in turnovers, resulting in a 26-11 lead in points off turnovers and an 11-8 lead in second-chance points, along with a 36-26 lead in points in the paint.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action tomorrow afternoon at home against Clarion, beginning at 1 p.m. in its final home game of 2025.
