WEST CHESTER, Pa.-Kimi Sayson (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional) scored a career-high 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, along with two makes from beyond the arc to help lead the West Chester University women's basketball team (8-5, 4-3) to a 66-51 victory over Shippensburg (1-13, 0-7) on Alumni Day in Hollinger Field House.
Bella Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland) joined Sayson in double figures with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field and a 1-for-2 effort at the line, along with four assists and a pair of steals.
West Chester shot north of 50 % in both the first and second quarters and ended the game shooting 45.3 % (24-of-53) from the field and 4-for-19 (21.1 %) from three-point range, while also going 14-for-21 (66.7 %) at the line.
Saturday's game was close early, with two lead changes and three ties through the first half, and the Golden Rams trailed by as many as four points early in the second quarter. Still, West Chester trailed for less than five minutes and led by as many as 18 with under eight minutes to play in a 66-51 victory over the visiting Raiders.
West Chester held an early 13-8 lead with four minutes to play in the first quarter before the Raiders, led by six points from Michelle Olak, closed out the first quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 15-13 lead into the second.
Both sides shot 50.0% from the field in the first quarter, with West Chester at 6-for-12 and Shippensburg at 7-for-14 through the opening 10 minutes.
West Chester found itself down 21-20 with 4:57 to play in the first half, but the Golden Rams came out of the timeout on a 13-0 run to take a 33-21 lead as the Raiders were held scoreless for just over seven minutes. Shippensburg halted its scoreless drought with 40 seconds to play as the Raiders closed the half on a 4-0 run to cut the Golden Rams' lead to 33-25 heading into the halftime break.
Bella Mazur was a key part of the 15-0 run, which gave West Chester a 33-25 halftime lead as she scored 10 points in the first half on 5-of-5 shooting from the field.
West Chester shot 53.3 % (8-of-15) from the field in the second quarter to shoot 51.9 % (14-of-27) from the field in the first half, including a 27.3 % (3-of-11) effort from the third quarter, while also going 2-for-2 at the line.
Shippensburg shot just 46.2 % (12-of-26) from the field, while going 1-for-3 (33.3 %) at the free throw line.
Shippensburg scored the first four points of the half in the first minute-and-a-half to cut the West Chester lead to 33-29, forcing a quick timeout by the Golden Rams. West Chester stretched its lead to double digits by the end of the quarter, carrying a 47-35 lead into the fourth.
In the fourth, West Chester led by as many as 18 in the early going and held a 53-40 lead with under five minutes to play as the game hit its final media timeout. The game ground to a screeching halt in the final minutes as Shippensburg began fouling in the final minutes of a game that appeared decided, and West Chester made the most of the chances, going 9-for-12 at the line in the fourth quarter to close out a 66-51 victory in front of its Alumni Day crowd.
Macie McCracken (North Wildwood, N.J./Wildwood) had a hard-charging seven points with five of those six points coming at the charity stripe.
For Shippensburg, Michelle Olak led all scorers with 21 points on 10-of-15 shooting, along with 12 rebounds, as the Raiders finished the game with a 42-32 lead in rebounding. Abbie Johns added 10 points of her own in the loss.
Shippensburg shot just 37.7 % (23-of-61) from the field and 2-for-15 (13.3 %) from beyond the arc, while also going just 3-for-10 (30.0 %) at the line.
West Chester ended the game with a 24-15 lead in turnovers and a 23-9 lead in points off turnovers, along with a 12-8 lead in points off the break.
Alivia Mauz (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) led the bench in scoring with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field as the Golden Ram bench outscored Shippensburg 25-3.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action on Tuesday against Kutztown, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
