BLOOMSBURG, Pa.-Lena Stein (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) scored a team-high 17 points but it was not enough to lead the West Chester University women's basketball team(8-7, 4-5) to a road victory over Bloomsburg (9-6, 5-3) on the road on Thursday night as the Huskies held off the Golden Rams for a 63-57 victory.
West Chester outscored its hosts 18-8 in the fourth quarter, led by 10 points from Stein, which was nearly enough to erase an 18-point deficit earlier in the quarter, but the comeback fell short. West Chester endured a seven-minute scoreless drought, which began with under four minutes to play in the third and lasted until there were just over six minutes to play in the final frame.
Stein was one of two Golden Rams in double figures in the loss as
Erin Daley (Lafayette Hill, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) finished with 11 points of her own and a team-high six rebounds.
Five early points by Daley West Chester put the Golden Rams out to a 7-4 lead in the early stages before a 5-0 run by Bloomsburg gave the Huskies a 9-7 lead with five minutes to play in the first half.
With 4:13 to play in the first quarter,
Kimi Sayson (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional) scored the Golden Rams final points of the first quarter with a pair of free throws to tie the game at 9-9 before the Huskies closed the first quarter with another 4-0 run to take a 13-9 lead into the second quarter.
Bloomsburg continued its run in the second, scoring the first four points of the second to take an 18-9 lead with 7:55 to play before Stein the run with a layup, which cut the deficit to 18-11.
Trailing 27-20 with 3:30 to play in the first half, West Chester closed the half on an 8-4 run, which included a pair of three pointers by Sayson and
Macie McCracken (North Wildwood, N.J./Wildwood) as West Chester cut the deficit to 32-28 with a minute to play until halftime. Alison Hatajik scored the final points of the half with a jumper as time expired to give the Huskies a 34-28 lead at the half.
West Chester shot 39.3 % (11-of-28) from the field in the first half, including a 3-for-6 (50.0 %) effort from beyond the arc, while also going 3-for-4 (75.0 %) at the line as Stein led the Golden Rams in scoring with eight first-half points.
Hatajik led all players in first-half scoring with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field as the Huskies shot 43.8 % (14-of-32) from the field, including a 2-for-9 (22.2 %) effort from beyond the arc. Bloomsburg was also 4-for-7 (57.1 %) at the line in the opening 20 minutes.
Bloomsburg grabbed a 45-33 lead with six minutes to play in the third quarter before the Huskies scored the final seven points of the frame to carry a 55-39 lead into the fourth.
West Chester was held scoreless over the final 3:46 of the third quarter and didn't score its first basket of the fourth until Stein hit a layup with 6:15 to play, which cut the deficit to 57-41. This basket sparked a modest 6-0 run, which saw West Chester cut the deficit to 57-45 before a 2-for-2 effort at the line by Sophia Shults restored a 14-point lead for Bloomsburg.
West Chester continued its run, cutting the Bloomsburg lead to 59-50 with four minutes to play after a three-point play by Sayson before a driving layup by
Ava Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland) got the deficit to 60-53 with just over two minutes to play. West Chester cut the deficit to six (63-57) in the final seconds, but Bloomsburg escaped with a narrow victory over the visiting Golden Rams.
West Chester shot 38.2 % (21-of-55) from the field in the loss, including a 6-for-14 (42.9 %) effort in the fourth quarter. West Chester finished the game 3-for-14 (21.4 %) from three-point range, while also going 12-for-15 (80.0 %) at the line.
Hatajik and Ava Stevenson tied for the team lead in scoring with 15 points each as Stevenson was 6-for-10 from the field, while Hatajik was 6-for-8. Hatajik also finished with 10 rebounds as she picked up an important double-double for the homestanding Huskies.
Bloomsburg shot 47.2 % (25-of-53) from the field in the win, including a 4-for-16 (25.0 %) effort from beyond the arc, while also going 9-for-16 (56.3 %) at the line.
Bloomsburg ended the game with a slim 34-31 lead in rebounding, although West Chester won the turnover battle by an 18-17 final.
Despite this, Bloomsburg finished the game with a 21-11lead in points off turnovers, along with a 40-30 lead in points in the paint, and a 15-7 lead in second-chance points.
Up Next:
West Chester will be back in action on Wednesday night at home against Shepherd, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
