MANSFIELD, Pa.-The North Wildwood tandem of
Marianna Papazoglou (North Wildwood, N.J./Wildwood Catholic) and
Macie McCracken (North Wildwood, N.J./Wildwood) accounted for 41 points to help lead the West Chester University women's basketball team (7-5, 3-3) to a 72-66 win over an upset-minded Mansfield (2-11, 0-6) squad to open PSAC East play on Wednesday.
Papazoglou led all scorers with a career-high 26 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, including a 3-for-7 effort from beyond the arc, while also going 9-for-10 at the free throw line. Papazoglou also led West Chester in rebounds with five in the East opening victory. McCracken continued her stellar rookie season as the freshman guard finished with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, including a 3-for-5 effort from beyond the arc, along with a 2-for-2 performance at the free throw line. McCracken scored 13 of her 15 points in the final 15 minutes of the game as the freshman guard had just two points to her name via a second-quarter layup with 4:11 to play in the third quarter.
Close throughout, the game featured nine ties and 16 lead changes, but West Chester shot 63.6 % (7-of-11) from the field in the third quarter, with four of those seven makes coming from three-point range, and was 9-for-10 at the free throw line in the fourth to avoid a second consecutive road loss to the Mountaineers.
Led by five quick points from
Lena Stein (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley), West Chester jumped out to a 12-5 lead with 6:16 to play in the first quarter before Mansfield answered with a 5-0 run of its own to cut the lead to 12-10 with 4:27 remaining. Papazoglou halted the run as quickly as it began with a three-pointer off an assist by
Kimi Sayson (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional), which restored a 15-10 Golden Ram lead.
Erin Daley (Lafayette Hill, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) closed out the first quarter scoring with a jumper, which gave West Chester a 19-16 lead heading into the second.
Kaite Sheeler opened the second quarter scoring with a three just over two minutes into the frame to tie the score at 19-19 before West Chester took a 23-19 lead with two baskets in the span of 20 seconds with under seven minutes to play in the half.
Mansfield rallied and led 27-25 with 2:41 to play before Daley and
Alivia Mauz (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) hit back-to-back baskets of their own in 23 seconds to take a 29-27 lead with 1:25 to play until halftime.
Jordin Tate (Wilmington, Del./Caravel) scored the final points of the half with a layup with 53 seconds to play before KJ Gordon knocked down a three with six seconds to play until halftime to send the game to the break tied at 31-31.
West Chester shot 41.2 % (14-of-34) from the field through the first 20 minutes, including a 3-for-14 (21.4 %) effort from beyond the arc. The Golden Rams were also 0-for-1 at the line in their lone trip to the charity stripe.
For its part, Mansfield shot 39.3 % (11-of-28) from the field in the first half, including a 40.0 % (6-of-15) effort from three-point range, while also going 3-for-4 (75.0 %) at the free throw line.
Mansfield jumped out to a 40-33 lead with 7:25 to play in the third quarter, thanks in part to two quick threes by Sheeler. Jenna Burkett hit what was initially ruled a three moments later, which was eventually reduced to a two, but still stretched the lead to 42-33 and forced a timeout by the Golden Rams with 6:45 to play in the third quarter.
Out of the timeout, Papazoglou engineered a five-point run, which cut the Mountie lead to 42-38. Papazoglou followed this up with another three before back-to-back threes by
Macie McCracken (North Wildwood, N.J./Wildwood) gave West Chester a 47-44 lead with under three minutes to play in the third. Mansfield countered with a 5-0 run, capped off by a Gordon three-pointer to take a 49-47 lead with 1:45 remaining.
Alainna Hopta (York, Pa./York Suburban) erased the deficit with a driving layup through contact as the senior captain hit the layup and the ensuing free throw to give West Chester a 50-49 lead. Jenna Burkett restored a two-point lead for the Mounties with what appeared to be a three-pointer, which gave the hosts a 52-50 lead before Papazoglou got fouled in the waning seconds of the quarter to tie the game at 52-52 heading into the fourth. Similar to earlier in the quarter, Burkett's three was corrected to a two after replay to give West Chester a 52-51 lead heading into the fourth.
Sheeler continued her big day to open the fourth with a driving layup, which restored a 53-52 Mansfield lead to start the fourth. West Chester answered back, and after a three-pointer by McCracken with 4:53 to play, the Golden Rams held a 61-55 lead over the upset-minded Mounties. Papazoglou and West Chester stretched the lead to 67-61 with under one minute to play at the free throw line, eventually closing out the game with a 72-66 victory after a late layup by McCracken.
Led by 25 points from Sheeler, Mansfield gave West Chester everything it wanted on Wednesday afternoon as the Mounties finished the game shooting 40.0 % (24-of-60) from the field, including a 10-of-30 (33.3 %) effort from beyond the arc, while also going 8-for-10 (80.0 %) at the free throw line.
Mansfield and West Chester ended the game tied in rebounding with 30 each, but West Chester finished with a 36-18 lead in points in the paint. West Chester also won the turnover battle 17-16 and finished the game with a 19-7 lead in points off turnovers and a 30-14 lead in points off the break.
After going 0-for-1 at the line in the first half, West Chester was 12-for-15 at the stripe in the second half, shooting an even 75.0 % (12-of-16) for the game. The Golden Rams also shot 44.8 % (26-of-58) from the field, including an 8-for-23 (34.8 %) effort from beyond the arc for the team's second-best three-point shooting performance of the season.
Up Next
West Chester will return to action at home on Saturday against Shippensburg on Alumni Day, beginning at 2 p.m.
