EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa.- Looking to get back in the win column and stretch its winning streak against East Stroudsburg to nine, the West Chester University women's basketball team (9-9, 5-7) returned to action on Wednesday night at East Stroudsburg (12-8, 7-6). Trailing by just one at the half, West Chester fell on hard times offensively in the third quarter and was unable to fully recover as East Stroudsburg pulled away for a 75-57 victory over the visiting Golden Rams.
The game featured three ties and eight lead changes, with West Chester leading at times in the first half, including a 28-26 edge with under 20 seconds to play in the opening half. With a one-point halftime lead, the Warriors came out of the halftime break firing on all cylinders, shooting 71.4 % (10-of-14) from the field in the third quarter to deny the visiting Golden Rams a victory.
West Chester got out to an early 7-4 lead after a
Marianna Papazoglou (North Wildwood, N.J/Wildwood Catholic) second-chance basket with 7:21 to play in the first. West Chester trailed 13-11 with 3:02 to play in the first after an Avery White three, but
Macie McCracken (North Wildwood, N.J./Wildwood) restored a 14-13 lead with 1:55 to play with a three of her own.
White scored the final field goal of the first quarter with 1:31 to play with a layup before
Kimi Sayson (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional) scored the final points of the quarter with a 1-for-2 trip to the line to send the game to the second tied at 15-15.
East Stroudsburg got out to a five-point lead early in the second at 22-17 with eight minutes to play in the first half. The Golden Rams responded with a 3-0 run to cut the deficit to 22-20 with 6:14 remaining before a Brie Droege jumper extended the lead back to 26-20 with 3:52 remaining. Led by three quick points from
Lena Stein (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley), the deficit was cut to 26-25 before an
Alivia Mauz (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) three-pointer extended the lead back to 28-26 with 56 seconds to play in the first half. Droege scored the final points of the first half with a three-pointer with 10 seconds to play, which increased her first-half total to 10 and gave the Warriors a 29-28 lead heading into the halftime break.
In the first half, West Chester shot just 32.1 % (9-for-28) from the field and a 3-for-9 (33.3 %) effort from beyond the arc, while also going 7-for-9 (77.8 %) from the free throw line. Sayson led the Golden Rams in scoring in the first half with eight points as the visitors found themselves down by just one heading into the second half.
East Stroudsburg opened the second half on a 10-0 run, stretching its scoring run, which started late in the first half, to 13 to take a 39-28 lead with seven minutes remaining in the third.
Alainna Hopta (York, Pa./West York) scored the first points of the second half for West Chester with 6:21 to play, which cut the deficit to 39-30 before Droege converted a three-point play to take a 42-30 advantage with just under six minutes remaining in the third. McCracken hit a three with 4:48 remaining in the third to cut the deficit to 42-33 before Brooke Droege scored her first points of the night to stretch the lead back to double digits at 44-33. ESU outscored the Golden Rams 25-9 in the third as West Chester shot just 33.3 % (3-for-9) from the field in the third while the Warriors were 10-for-14 (71.4 %) in the frame to take a 54-37 lead into the fourth.
East Stroudsburg extended its lead to 22 points with five minutes to play. West Chester recovered from its nine-point third and scored 20 points 5-of-17 (29.4 %) shooting from the field in the fourth, but it was not enough to come all the way back in a 75-57 loss to the Warriors.
West Chester shot 31.5 % (17-of-54) from the field in the loss, including a19.0 % (4-for-21) effort from three-point range, while also going 19-for-25 (76.0 %) from the line. Sayson led West Chester in scoring with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field, including a made three-pointer, while also going 4-for-6 at the line. Stein and Papazoglou tied for the team lead in rebounding with eight, while Papazoglou also tied for the team lead in steals with two.
Led by 27 points and 12 rebounds by Brie Droege, East Stroudsburg shot 46.8 % (29-of-62) from the field and 40.0 % (4-for-10) from three-point range to earn its first victory over West Chester since February 2020 on Thursday night. ESU was also a perfect 13-for-13 at the line with all 13 attempts coming in the second half on Thursday night.
ESU finished the game with a slim 37-34 lead in rebounding, although West Chester finished the game with a 10-9 lead on the offensive glass and an 8-5 lead in second-chance points. East Stroudsburg finished the game with a 19-16 lead in turnovers and a 25-17 lead in points off turnovers, along with a 38-24 lead in points in the paint.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action on Saturday afternoon at home against Mansfield, beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday will also be Parents' Day for the Golden Rams; fans are encouraged to arrive early, as the Golden Rams will salute their families for their support throughout the season.
