WEST CHESTER, Pa.-Macie McCracken (North Wildwood, N.J/Wildwood) scored 17 points off the bench to help lead the West Chester University women's basketball team (9-7, 5-5) to a 71-59 victory over Shepherd (3-12, 1-9) in Hollinger Field House on Wednesday night.
McCracken was one of three Golden Rams in double figures as fellow North Wildwood native
Marianna Papazoglou (North Wildwood, N.J./Wildwood Catholic) led West Chester's starting five in scoring with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while
Ava Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional) added 11 of her own in the win.
Lena Stein (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) led West Chester in rebounding with eight, while
Bella Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional) led the team in assists with five, along with eight points.
West Chester shot north of 50.0 % in all four quarters, including a 57.1 % (8-of-14) effort in the fourth quarter to finish the game shooting 53.7 % (29-of-54) from the field, including a 4-for-13 (30.8 %) from three-point range, while also going 9-for-11 (81.8 %) from the line, including a 6-for-6 effort in the second half.
West Chester never trailed in its victory, which halted a two-game losing streak and led by as many as 19 with under two minutes to play in regulation en route to a 12-point victory over the visiting Rams.
West Chester jumped out to a 4-0 lead and led by as many as six at the end of a closely contested first quarter after a late three-pointer by McCracken.
Papazoglou led all scorers in the first quarter with 7 points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field, as West Chester shot 57.1% (8-for-14) from the field.
Shepherd opened the second quarter on a 6-0 run to tie the score at 19-19 before
Ava Mazur hit a pull-up jumper to give the Golden Rams a 21-19 lead. This also sparked a run, which saw the Golden Rams carry a 25-21 lead into the media timeout with 4:12 to play in the opening half.
West Chester stretched its lead to as many as 11 with 1:22 to play after an 11-0 run gave the Golden Rams a 32-21 lead. Shepherd scored the final points of the half as the Rams cut the deficit to 33-25 heading into the halftime break.
West Chester shot 53.8 % (14-of-26) from the field in the first half, including a 2-for-7 (28.6 %) effort from beyond the arc, while also going 3-for-5 at the free throw line.
Papazoglou led all scorers in the first half with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, while McCracken and
Ava Mazur added six points each.
Shepherd was 9-for-10 (90.0 %) at the line in the first 20 minutes but shot just 25.0 % (8-for-32) from the field, despite finishing the half with a 12-4 lead in offensive rebounds and a 21-16 lead in rebounding overall.
In the third quarter, West Chester led by as many as 13 with just under four minutes to play and held an 11-point lead in the waning moments of the quarter after a put-back layup by McCracken before Estridge hit a three just before the end of the quarter to cut the lead to 48-40 heading into the fourth.
West Chester stretched its lead back to 13 with just under seven minutes to play when Mazur hit another pull-up jumper to improve to 4-for-7 from the field on the night. The Golden Rams stretched their lead to 19 with under two minutes to play en route to a 71-59 wire-to-wire victory over the visiting Rams.
Estridge led Shepherd in scoring with 18 points, while Kara Whener and Trinity Turner added 16 and 11 points, respectively, in the loss.
Shepherd shot just 31.3 % (20-of-64) from the field in the loss, including a 5-for-23 (21.7 %) effort from beyond the arc, while also going 14-for-16 (87.5 %) from the line.
West Chester ended the game with a 41-30 lead in rebounding, which led to a 16-14 lead in second-chance points and a 36-20 lead in points in the paint. Led by McCracken's 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, West Chester also finished the game with a 34-14 lead in points off the bench.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action on Saturday at Lock Haven, beginning at 1 p.m.
