WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester University women's basketball team is set to return to action on Friday afternoon in Hollinger Field House against Salem for its first game of the 2026-27 season beginning at 2 p.m. West Chester enters 2026-27 with a familiar look as the Golden Rams return a veteran lineup following the departure of a three-player senior class last winter and are once again led by head coach
Kiera Wooden, who enters her 13
th season at the helm of the Golden Rams, just 14 wins away from the 200
th win of her head coaching career.
"So far, so good. I think at this time of year all basketball coaches are excited," started Wooden when asked about her first impressions of the 2026-27 Golden Rams. "It's a new year, new experience with endless possibilities. I think I'm in the same boat as a lot of coaches around the country in that I'm really excited about this year's roster, and I think we got deeper in every position, and I think we can score in a lot of different ways. The question that remains is how it will all come together and look over the course of a long season, but I'm excited to see how we look this weekend and how it pans out as the season goes on," continued Wooden.
West Chester Women's Basketball
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Single-Game Tickets
Fan Information
Single-game tickets are on sale via
wcupatix.com/athletics. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets online for the fastest entry into Hollinger House. Fans are also reminded that WCUPATIX is the only authorized online ticket seller for regular season West Chester events. Tickets purchased via third-party vendors will not be accepted.
The Opening Tip
West Chester started the 2025-26 season strong, winning six of eight Division II games in the first half of the season, but a young team, which included as many as four freshmen in the starting five at times last winter, sputtered down the stretch, finishing the season at 11-16 overall and 7-14 in league action to narrowly miss a return to the PSAC Tournament, finishing seventh in the PSAC East standings. With much of this young core returning in 2026-27, West Chester returns 80% of last season's offense and was picked to finish fifth in the PSAC East Preseason coaches poll. East Stroudsburg is the preseason favorite in the PSAC East with three first-place votes, while IUP is the preseason favorite in the PSAC West with seven first-place votes.
"We started off strong but definitely hit a slump last year, partially because of what a young team we were," acknowledged Wooden. "Playing a young lineup with as many as four freshmen, you are going to have to take the good with the bad and deal with the ebbs and flows of a season with a young team. Our hope this year is that with more experience we handle those ebbs and flows better and can stay more consistent down the stretch as the season gets into those final weeks in 2027."
West Chester averaged 61.9 points per game on 40.1% shooting from the field last winter, along with 71.2% at the free-throw line, as the Golden Rams remain a strong free-throw shooting team. West Chester held opponents to 62.4 points per game, third-best in the PSAC East, thanks in part to a 26.2% effort from beyond the arc and 10.2 steals per game, fifth-best in the league and second-best in the PSAC East.
Flock Talk
The benefit of West Chester being a young group last winter is that the team returns veterans who saw significant time last season as freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, respectively. The Golden Rams return nearly 1,400 of its 1,672 points from last winter, led by
Lena Stein (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley), who led West Chester in scoring a year ago, averaging 10 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in her rookie season. Fellow sophomore
Macie McCracken (North Wildwood, N.J./Wildwood) also returns in 2026-27 after averaging 8.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in her rookie season, including an outstanding stretch in the middle of the campaign, which saw her score in double figures in five straight games, including a 24-point effort against Clarion on December 21.
Erin Daley (Lafayette Hill, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) and
Bella Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional) also return, averaging 6.5 and 5.8 points per game last season, as the Golden Rams return four of their top five scorers. Daley also ranks second among returning Golden Rams in rebounding after averaging 4.5 rebounds per game last winter as the Golden Rams look to their lone senior to provide veteran leadership to a young roster in 2026-27.
"Erin has really seen the evolution of this team throughout her career," noted Wooden when asked about her lone senior. "She's been a great leader, particularly this year, with the nucleus we have returning along with our newcomers. She's been doing a good job of talking the younger players through what they need to be doing, and she is such a defensively gifted player that she can do a lot for us on and off the court."
Ava Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland) joins sister Bella for their junior season along with
Aaliyah Soliday (Upper Providence, Pa./Spring-Ford), who is expected to play her first minutes as a Golden Ram this season after missing her first two seasons due to injury. The sophomore class remains intact as Stein and McCracken are joined by
Kimi Sayson (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional), Alivia Mauz (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown), Amelia McMichael (Butler, Pa./Butler), and Jordin Tate (Wilmington, Del./Caravel Academy) after playing meaningful minutes for the Golden Rams throughout their rookie seasons last winter.
Asked about her returning group, Wooden said, "We were a young team last year. We kind of threw them into the fire, and some days they responded really well and some not so much, but with a year or more of experience and a little more experience with the challenges of the PSAC, I'm excited to see what they can accomplish this year.
Welcome to WCU
In addition to the returning core, which includes its entire starting five for part of the season last year and four of five starters from the final days of the 2026-27 regular season, West Chester welcomes three talented newcomers in
Aubrey Yartz (State College, Pa./St. Joseph's Catholic), Naomi Crispin (State College, Pa./St. Joseph's Catholic), and Synai Blynchanton (Red Bank, N.J./Red Bank Regional), who Wooden and the Golden Rams expect to make an impact early in 2026-27 and beyond.
Wooden expressed excitement about her freshman class, saying, "This is a versatile group. We have a freshman guard in Naomi, who can shoot the lights out with great range and has the chance to be another great guard for us not only with her shooting ability but the way she sees and understands the game. Synai is a really physical guard, who can play inside and out and finishes through contact well. Aubrey is a 6-1 post with good size and had a really good high school career with 1000 points and 1000 rebounds, so I'm excited to see her carry that over into the college game."
Crispin and Yartz were high school teammates at St. Joseph's Catholic, which Wooden acknowledged is also a big help as the duo already has strong chemistry and understanding of each other's game, which they will look to carry over into their rookie seasons on University Avenue this winter.
On the Bench
Head coach
Kiera Wooden returns to the sidelines to start her 13
th season as the Golden Rams head coach with a career record of 186-135, joined by longtime assistant coach
Allison Hostetter, who was elevated to Associate Head Coach earlier this fall.
The Slate
West Chester opens its season at home once again this November as the Golden Rams host Salem on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. The Golden Rams will take to the road on Saturday to face Charleston at Millersville at 4 p.m., as West Chester and the Marauders share hosting duties for opening weekend. West Chester will not play again until November 29
th, when the team hosts Jefferson at 1 p.m., before jumping into Crossover play at Slippery Rock and Gannon on December 4 and 5.
"Throughout non-conference play, we are going to see a number of different styles of basketball, and I think that matchup diversity is going to really pay dividends for us in terms of the way it'll prepare us for almost anything we could potentially see in the PSAC once league play gets underway," added Wooden.
West Chester will finish 2026 with a three-game homestand, hosting IUP, Seton Hill, and Holy Family on December 19, 20, and 30. The team will open 2027 with a pair of home games against California and Bloomsburg on January 2 and 6, respectively.
For all the latest news, notes, stats, and scores on West Chester men's basketball and all the Golden Rams varsity programs, visit wcupagoldenrams.com and follow us on our socials all season long.
