KUTZTOWN, Pa.- Entering the final day of the regular season, all six teams who will see their season continue in the PSAC Tournament knew they were PSAC Tournament bound. However, none of the six had a clear idea what seed they would be or what that road would look like. Needing a win or a combination of other results to secure a home game in the PSAC Tournament on Monday, the West Chester University women's basketball team (14-14, 11-10) fell to PSAC East Regular Season Champion Kutztown (19-11, 14-7) by a 63-57 final.
By virtue of today's loss, Millersville's win over Shepherd, and East Stroudsburg's loss to Lock Haven, West Chester will be the fifth seed in the PSAC Tournament when play gets underway on Monday, March 3. This means the team will visit Millersville for its first-round matchup on Monday night at 5:30 p.m.
West Chester shot 35.6 % (21-of-59) from the field, including 23.5 % (4-of-17) from three-point range in the setback as the Golden Rams finished with
Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua) and
Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) in double figures with 17 and 10, respectively.
Kozicki also picked up her 18th double-double of the year, finishing with a team-best 11 rebounds in the loss, which also tied with Bella Quinn of Kutztown for the game high.
West Chester was down 19-9 after the first quarter and trailed 29-15 at the break after shooting below 30.0 % in both the first and second quarters.
The Golden Rams found their stride in the second half, shooting 46.2 % (6-of-13) from the field in the third and 44.4 % (8-of-18) in the fourth to nearly come all the way back and shock the PSAC East Regular Season Champion Golden Bears.
West Chester outscored Kutztown 19-15 in the third and 23-19 in the fourth, which helped the team cut the deficit to as few as four with 10 seconds to play after a jumper by
Erin Daley (Lafayette Hill, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) for her ninth points of the afternoon.
Four points was as close as the Golden Rams could get as the Golden Bears closed the game out at the free throw line to improve to 19-11 overall and 14-7 in league play, earning the top seed in the PSAC Tournament when it begins on Monday evening.
Naia Pulliam and Abbey Hearn tied for the team lead in scoring with 19 points each as two of three Golden Bears in double figures as Leila Hurley chipped in 11 off the bench. Hearn also finished with 10 rebounds for a double-double of her own.
Kutztown shot 35.1 % (20-of-57) from the field, including a 7-for-28 (25.0 %) effort from deep, while also going 16-for-24 (66.7 %) at the free throw line.
For its part, West Chester was 11-for-12 (91.7 %) at the free-throw line.
Despite the loss, West Chester ended the game with a 12-10 lead in turnovers and an 11-8 lead in points off turnovers, while also finishing with a 10-7 lead in second-chance points and a 4-3 lead in points off the break.
Up Next
West Chester will head to Millersville for the first round of the PSAC Tournament on Monday evening at 5:30. The winner of this game will advance to Kutztown for a PSAC Quarterfinal on Wednesday at 5:30.
