WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Winners of each of its last two to conclude November, the West Chester University women's basketball team (3-2) will look to extend its winning streak to three on Saturday afternoon against Pitt-Johnstown (2-4) in the first PSAC Crossover game of the season in Hollinger Field House at 1 p.m.
West Chester vs Pitt-Johnstown
Game Details: December 6 I 1 P.M.
Location: Hollinger Field House (West Chester, Pa.)
Series: 7-15
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Fan Information
Similar to West Chester football games, West Chester basketball games will be cashless events this season. Ticket prices remain the same at $10 for general admission adult tickets and $5 for students (K-12) and seniors (+65), with WCU students with a current, valid ID admitted free of charge. Fans are strongly encouraged to purchase tickets online prior to arriving at Hollinger via this
link.
Last Time Out
West Chester returns home looking to run its winning streak to three in a row after wins over California (64-36) and Jefferson (58-54) on the last two Sundays in November. At Jefferson on Sunday, West Chester trailed for much of the game, including 45-39 heading into the fourth quarter, but used a 14-4 run to outscore its hosts 19-9 in the fourth to post a 58-54 victory inside the Gallagher Center.
Bella Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional) led West Chester in scoring with 12 points.
Macie McCracken (North Wildwood, N.J./Wildwood) continued her exceptional rookie campaign with 10 points off the bench to help West Chester earn a comeback win over Jefferson for the second year in a row. West Chester shot north of 55.0 % in the third and fourth quarters, including a 7-of-12 (58.3 %) in the third, which led to the Golden Rams shooting 45.1 % (23-of-51) from the field, including a 25.0 % (4-of-16) from beyond the arc. West Chester was also 8-for-13 (61.5 %) at the free-throw line in the victory.
Flock Talk
West Chester enters play on Saturday averaging 62.4 points per game on 42.4 % shooting from the field, including a 20.2 % effort from beyond the arc and a 73.3 % clip from the free throw line. West Chester also holds a 42.2-39.4 lead in rebounding, led by an average of 5.2 rebounds per game from
Lena Stein (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley), who is also the team's leading scorer, averaging 11.6 points per game.
Bella Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional) is close behind, averaging 9.6 per game after her 12 points in a win on Sunday, and is also tied for first on the team in assists with 2.8, along with her twin-sister
Ava Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional).
Youth Movement
West Chester has scored 312 points through its first five games of the season, and its newcomers, which include three freshman starters in Stein,
Jordin Tate (Wilmington, Del./Caravel), and Kimi Sayson (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional), along with
Alivia Mauz (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown), Macie McCracken (North Wildwood, N.J./Wildwood), and Amelia McMichael (Butler, Pa./Butler, have accounted for 179 (57.3 %) of that scoring through those five games.
We Are Honored
Tate earned PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week honors last week after grabbing seven defensive rebounds and coming away with four steals and two blocks in the win over Jefferson last week.
Perhaps Not
Defense has been the calling card for head coach
Kiera Wooden's group this season, as the squad is ninth in Division II in field-goal percentage against, limiting teams to 31.3% shooting, including a 16.2% effort from deep, which is second-best in Division II. West Chester also ranks in the top-40 in points allowed, holding teams to just 55.4 points per game, thanks in part to 11 steals and 3.8 blocks per game.
Preseason Prognostication
In the Preseason Coaches' polls released by the league office in mid-October, West Chester was picked to finish fourth in the East, while Pitt-Johnstown, which mustered just one league win last winter under first-year head coach D'Wan Shackleford Vickroy, was picked to finish eighth in the West.
Home Sweet Home
Defeating West Chester in Hollinger has become a herculean task in recent years, as West Chester is 46-14 (.766) in Hollinger since the beginning of the 2021-22 season, including the 27-game home winning streak that continued into mid-December a year ago.
In the First Home Crossover
West Chester has not lost its first home crossover game of the season since a December 7, 2019 loss to Mercyhurst (57-55).
Series History
West Chester trails Pitt-Johnstown 15-7 in the all-time series, including a 79-42 loss in the first meeting between the two teams in February 1988, but has found its footing in recent years, including a 71-64 overtime victory over the Mountain Cats in Johnstown last December. West Chester has four of five against Pitt-Johnstown and has won each of the last three at home, dating back to an 81-66 in January 2015 during Wooden's first season as head coach. Pitt-Johnstown will visit Hollinger on Saturday afternoon for the first time since December 2021, when West Chester defeated UPJ by a 62-54 final for its third win of the season.
Scouting Pitt-Johnstown
Pitt-Johnstown enters play just one win shy of matching its win total from last season as the Mountain Cats, who won just three games last winter, are already 2-4 in 2025, including a 97-75 win over West Liberty and an 83-79 win over West Virginia State.
Saturday will be Pitt-Johnstown's first game since an 83-79 victory over WVSU back on November 25 inside the Sports Center in Johnstown. In this victory, the Mountain Cats trailed by 12 (45-33
) at the half but outscored WVSU 18-10 in the third and 32-24 in the fourth, led by a 57.1 % (8-of-14) shooting effort from the field in the fourth and eight second-half threes to earn the four-point victory. Liv West was key in the victory as she scored 35 points off the bench on 12-of-21 shooting, including six makes from three-point range, while also grabbing 12 rebounds in the comeback win. Riley Childress scored 20 of her own on 5-of-9 shooting from the field, including three makes from three-point range, while also 7-for-8 at the free throw line. For the game, UPJ shot 45.2 % (28-of-62) from the field, including a 10-for-22 (45.5 %) effort from deep, while also going 17-for-19 (89.5 %) at the line.
As a team, Pitt-Johnstown averages 74.2 points per game on 47.4 % shooting from the field, including a 35.4 % effort from beyond the arc. The Mountain Cats also shoot 80.0 % at the free-throw line. The visitors' three-point shooting will be put to the test on Saturday as West Chester holds opponents to just 16.2% from deep, which is second-best in Division II.
Individually, West leads the team in scoring, averaging 19.2 points per game, while Childress is second, averaging 13.8 per game. West also leads the team in rebounding, averaging 4.6 per game, while Childress leads in assists, averaging 5.0 per game, including her five in the win over WVSU.
Up Next
West Chester will not play again until a December 16 visit to Wilmington for its non-league finale before hosting Gannon and Clarion on December 20 and 21 for its final games of 2025.
