West Chester at Shippensburg
Game Details: February 12 I 3 P.M.
Location: Heiges Field House (Shippensburg, Pa.)
Coverage Links: Live Stats I Video
Series: 39-31 (WCU 4-1 in last five)
WCU Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
SHIP Links: NEWS I ROSTER I SCHEDULE I STATS
Last Time Out
West Chester earned a 67-61 victory over Mansfield on Senior Day on Saturday led by the 15th double-double of the year from Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua) as the senior forward scored 12 points and came away with 13 rebounds in the six-point victory. West Chester led by as many as 14 late in the second quarter and trailed for just 30 seconds but still needed a late defensive stand to hold off a Mansfield second-half comeback and escape with the six-point victory. Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) led West Chester in scoring with 18 points, while Bella Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional) and Alainna Hopta (York, Pa./West York) finished with 13 and 10. Leading 37-28 at the half, West Chester saw its lead cut to 42-40 late in the third and trailed 61-60 early in the fourth after a Danae Ellzy three with two minutes to play. West Chester did not trail for long, erasing the deficit quickly and pulling away just enough to hold on for the 67-61 victory.
Working in the Paint
West Chester has outscored its opponents in the paint in 18 of 23 games this season, including a 48-14 lead vs Wilmington. This season, WCU has outscored opponents 690 (30.0/g)-406 (17.6/g) in the paint.
Second Quarter Woes
West Chester has struggled in the second quarter this season, being outscored 401-331 while outscoring its foes by 48 (1,162-1,114) in the other three quarters combined, including a 434-400 lead in the fourth quarter of games and an 801-734 lead in the second half.
Erin Emerging
Erin Daley has turned in an excellent stretch of basketball for West Chester since a career-high 19 points vs Kutztown on 1/11. Daley has scored in double figures four times in eight games, including an 18-point effort in the win at Lock Haven on February 1 and 11 against Shepherd last Wednesday night. The sophomore forward is now averaging 8.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game heading into the final weeks of the 2024-25 regular season.
The Walking Double Double
Kozicki ranks second in the PSAC in scoring, averaging 20.8 points per game, while her 10.6 rebounds per game are fifth best in the league. The senior forward has 15 double-doubles to her name, including eight in as many games, which ranks her in a tie for third in D2 in double-doubles while also ranking second in the PSAC. Emily Chmiel leads the PSAC and D2 in double-doubles with 17.
Rare Air
With two 35-point games earlier this season, Kozicki, who ranks second in the PSAC and eighth in DII in scoring, averaging 20.8 points per game, is one of just three Golden Rams to score 35 points or more in a game twice in the same year. Leah Johnson was the most recent to do so with her 38 points at WVSU on 11/13/22 before scoring a program-record 44 vs Cal on 3/10/23. Mitzi Reitnouer (1981-82) is the only other player to do so, scoring 35 or more three times in February of that season.
Kozicki’s 35 points are also the second-best single-game scoring effort in the league this year, trailing only Emily Chmiel’s 37 against Lock Haven on January 11.
We Love Free Stuff
West Chester ranks sixth in Division II and second in the PSAC in free throw percentage, shooting 79.2 % at the stripe through 23 games. WCU has hit over 70.0 % in 18 of 23 games and 80.0 % or better in 11 of 18, including a 92.0 % effort vs Lock Haven on January 6.
The Playoff Picture
With 16 league games complete and the team’s second bye of East play just ahead on Saturday, the playoff picture is slowly starting to take shape, even if the outsides of the shape remain a bit fuzzy. Lock Haven and Kutztown, both of whom West Chester has a win over this season, appear in control atop the East at 10-6 and 9-6 in league play, while Bloomsburg, Millersville, West Chester, and East Stroudsburg slug it out over the next four spots. At 8-8, West Chester is tied with Bloomsburg and Millersville in the standings but trails both of them in tiebreakers after falling to both the Marauders and Huskies earlier this year. West Chester retains a game lead and a tiebreaker over East Stroudsburg, who is currently sixth in the East at 7-8 on the year. West Chester is down to its final five games of the year and has just two home games remaining as East Stroudsburg and Millersville visit Hollinger on February 19 and 26 for a pair of 5:30 starts.
Series History
West Chester is 39-31 all-time vs Shippensburg, including wins in each of its last four meetings and a sweep of the season series a year ago. West Chester is enjoying its longest winning streak against the Raiders since an eight-game streak that stretched from February 2009 through February 2012 after opening the season series with a 73-59 victory at home in mid-January.
Last Time They Met
West Chester ran its winning streak against Shippensburg to four in a row and continued its hot start to 2025 in mid-January with a 73-59 victory over Shippensburg. West Chester held a 31-22 lead at the end of the first quarter after shooting a blistering 78.6 % (11-of-14) from the field, including a 4-for-4 effort from three-point range and led by 15 midway through the second quarter at the end of a 14-0 run, which spanned the end of the first quarter into the second. Shippensburg countered with a 10-0 run before the half, which cut the deficit to eight (40-32), and continued to look for a comeback as the afternoon progressed. West Chester outscored Shippensburg 18-12 in the fourth, including 12 points at the free-throw line for one of the best free-throw shooting teams in DII women’s basketball. Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua) scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) and Bella Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional) finished with 16 and 14, respectively. After shooting nearly 80.0 % in the first quarter, West Chester failed to shoot above 40.0 % in any of the next three quarters, ending the game shooting 44.2 % (23-of-52) from the field, including a 5-for-12 (41.7 %) effort from three-point range. West Chester was also 22-for-26 (84.6 %) at the line. The Golden Rams also won the turnover battle by a 21-12 margin, which led to a 22-6 lead in points off turnovers and a 32-22 lead in points in the paint.
Scouting Shippensburg
Shippensburg (8-14, 5-11) enters play on Wednesday night looking to halt a three-game losing streak after falling to Lock Haven by a 65-57 final at home on Saturday. The start of February has been rough for Shippensburg as the team opened with a 77-60 loss at Bloomsburg on February 1 before a 69-21 loss at home against Millersville on February 5 and the most-recent eight point loss against Lock Haven. Against Lock Haven on Saturday afternoon, Shippensburg led by two heading into the second but trailed by a pair of at the half and could never fully reclaim the lead in the eight-point setback as Lock Haven outscored its hosts 18-12 in the fourth quarter to close out the win. Shippensburg shot 58.3 % in the third quarter but ended the game shooting just 41.8 % (23-of-55) from the field, including 2-of-8 (25.0 %) from three-point range, while also going 9-for-14 (64.3 %) at the free throw line. Michelle Olak led the way in 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Taja Colbert added 12 points of her own as the lone two Raiders in double figures in the loss.
Shippensburg enters play on Wednesday averaging just 58.8 points per game on 38.1 % shooting from the field and 25.0 % shooting from three-point range, while also shooting 72.4 % from the free throw line. The Raiders trail in rebounding and turnovers, averaging 33.9 rebounds per game compared to 37.2 from their opponents, while also trailing 18.7-16.7 in turnovers. Shippensburg’s opponents enter play averaging 68.6 points per game on 42.8 % shooting from the field and 31.6 % from beyond the arc, while also averaging 14 made free throws per game (69.5 %) and just under 10 (9.8) steals per game.
Individually, Colbert is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 12.4 points per game, while Abbie Miller leads the team in rebounding, averaging 7.0 per game along with 8.8 points per game. Colbert also leads the team in assists, averaging 3.0 helpers per game.
