WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Marianna Papazoglou (North Wildwood, N.J./Wildwood Catholic) led all scorers with 12 points but it was not enough to lead the West Chester University women's basketball team (8-6, 4-4) to an upset victory over the defending PSAC Champion Kutztown University Golden Bears (8-6, 4-3) as the Golden Bears escaped Hollinger with a 49-46 victory.
In a game that featured six ties and 10 lead changes, West Chester had a chance to force overtime in the waning seconds of regulation, but a late layup attempt by
Kimi Sayson (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional) was off the mark as the defending PSAC Champion Golden Bears escaped Hollinger with a three-point victory.
Erin Daley (Lafayette Hill, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) had tied the score at 44-44 after a 4-0 run before Papazoglou hit a late layup of her own to tie the score at 46-46 with under a minute to play. With the score tied at 46-46, Kutztown went 3-for-4 at the line to take a 49-46 lead with under 20 seconds to play. West Chester forced multiple Golden Bear turnovers off inbounds passes with under five seconds to play, but was unable to find the basket that would have forced overtime against the visiting Golden Bears.
West Chester shot just 24.1 % (14-of-58) from the field in the loss, including a 6-for-23 (26.1 %)effort from beyond the arc, while also going 12-for-18 (66.7 %) at the line.
West Chester jumped out to a 7-2 run in the first five minutes before Kutztown countered with a 5-0 run out of the media timeout to tie the score at 7-7 early. McCracken hit from beyond the arc late in the quarter to give West Chester a 10-9 lead, but Kutztown closed the frame on a 5-2 run to take a 14-12 lead into the second quarter.
West Chester was 4-for-15 (26.7 %) from the field in the first quarter, but three of these four makes came from beyond the arc.
Kutztown stretched its lead to 26-16 with five minutes to play in the first half before West Chester closed the half on a 10-0 run to tie the score at 26-26 heading into the halftime break.
West Chester shot just 21.9% (7-of-32) from the field, 5-for-15 (33.3%) from beyond the arc, and 2-for-17 (11.8%) on two-point attempts, including a 2-for-14 effort in the paint. The Golden Rams were also 7-for-10 (70.0 %) at the line.
Sayson and Papazoglou tied for the team lead in scoring in the first half with six points each. Sayson also led West Chester in rebounding with four in the first 20 minutes of action.
Olivia Smelas led all scorers in the first half with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field as Kutztown shot 36.0 % (9-for-25) from the field, including a 4-for-11 (36.4 %) from three-point range, while also going 4-for-6 (66.7 %) at the line.
West Chester did end the first half with a 9-3 lead in turnovers and a 12-5 lead in points off turnovers, which, along with a 12-7 lead in points off the bench and a 10-4 lead in second-chance points, helped West Chester head to the halftime break with the score tied at 26-26.
West Chester took a 30-29 lead early in the third quarter before a corner three by Taylor Gurysh gave the Golden Bears a 32-30 lead with under five minutes to play in the third. The third quarter continued to be a low-scoring affair as the two sides combined for just 19 points and Kutztown carried a 36-35 lead into the fourth.
The fourth quarter remained close, but Kutztown closed the game out at the free throw line as West Chester had no choice but to foul in the closing seconds of regulation, which allowed the Golden Bears to escape Hollinger with a 49-46 victory over the Golden Rams.
Kutztown shot 32.7 % (16-of-49) from the field, including an identical 26.1 % (6-of-23) from three-point range, while also going 11-for-15 (73.3 %) at the line. Kutztown shot just 28.6 % (4-of-14) from the field in the third quarter and 30.0 % (3-of-10) from the field in the fourth, while going 7-for-9 at the line to close out the victory over the upset-minded Golden Rams.
Olivia Smelas led Kutztown in scoring with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting, including two makes from beyond the arc, along with 11 rebounds, as the two sides finished the game tied in rebounding with 41 rebounds each.
Papazoglou was the lone player in double figures in the loss with 12 points off the bench and nine rebounds. Papazoglou's 12 points helped West Chester outscore the Kutztown bench 20-18. Daley and Sayson led the Golden Ram starters in scoring with eight points each.
Despite the loss, West Chester also finished the game with a 16-9 lead in turnovers and a 14-5 lead in points off turnovers, along with a 16-14 lead in points in the paint and a 10-6 lead in second-chance points after finishing the game with a 15-10 lead in offensive rebounding.
Up Next:
West Chester will be back in action on Thursday evening at Bloomsburg, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
