WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester University women's basketball team (10-12, 6-10) is set to return to action on Wednesday night against Bloomsburg (11-11, 7-8) at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday night in search of a victory to steady the ship as the team find itself in the midst of a season-long three game losing streak after falling to Shippensburg on the road on Saturday afternoon by a 67-45 final.
West Chester vs Bloomsburg
Game Details: February 11 I 5:30 P.M.
Location: Hollinger Field House (West Chester, Pa.)
Series: 48-42 (L3)
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Last Time Out
West Chester fell to Shippensburg on Saturday afternoon by a 67-45 final for its third loss in a row to open February. West Chester led by three after the first (13-10) and trailed by just two (24-22) at the half, but was outscored 43-23 in the second half as the host Raiders pulled away and led by as many as 25 with 1:05 to play in the 22-point victory.
Lena Stein (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) led West Chester in scoring with 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field, while also going 2-for-2 at the line, along with seven rebounds, as the lone Golden Ram in double figures.
Erin Daley (Lafayette Hill, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) and Sofia Coleman (Dresher, Pa./Gwynedd Mercy Academy) chipped in eight and seven points each as West Chester shot 39.2 % (20-of-51) from the field and 5-for-8 (62.5 %) at the line. Shippensburg was led by 23 points from Michelle Olak on 9-of-10 shooting and a 5-for-7 effort at the line as she scored 19 of her 23 in the second half and was one of three Raiders in double figures. McKenzie Thomas and Melana Eyer joined Olak in double figures with 19 and 16 points, respectively. Shippensburg shot 52.0 % (26-of-50) from the field and 50.0 % (8-for-16) at the line, while also going 7-for-11 (63.6 %) at the line for its second league win of the season
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Flock Talk
West Chester enters play on Wednesday averaging 62.4 points per game on 40.4 % shooting from the field and 24.8 % shooting from beyond the arc, while also shooting 71.9 % at the free throw line. Stein leads West Chester in scoring, averaging 9.9 points per game, while the North Wildwood tandem of
Macie McCracken (North Wildwood, N.J/Wildwood) and Marianna Papazoglou (North Wildwood, N.J/Wildwood Catholic) are second and third, averaging 8.8 and 8.4 points per game, respectively. Stein is also first on the team in rebounds and steals, averaging 6.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, which helps West Chester maintain a slim 37.5-37.3 lead in rebounding and average 10 steals along with 16.8 opponents' turnovers per game.
Kimi Sayson (Oceanport, N.J/Shore Regional) is first on the team in assists, averaging 2.5 per game, followed by
Ava Mazur (Linwood, N.J./Mainland) and her 2.4 helpers per game.
Youth Movement
Despite only mustering 26 points on Saturday at Shippensburg, the Golden Rams' rookie class continues to be a driving force in the offense, averaging 33.9 points per game and accounting for 54.4 % (747-of-1,372) of the team's offense this season.
The Second Unit
West Chester's bench averages 29.3 points per game, which is 17th in Division II and the best in the PSAC.
Home Sweet Home
West Chester remains hard to beat at home as the Golden Rams are 42-8 at home since January 2023 and are 51-16 since the beginning of the 2021-22 season, including a 27-game home winning streak, which lasted into December 2024 and was, for a night, the longest home winning streak in Division II women's basketball.
Series History
With wins in each of the last three meetings, Bloomsburg holds a 48-42 lead in the series over West Chester, including a 63-57 win over the Golden Rams in Bloomsburg in early January. West Chester is looking for its first win over Bloomsburg since a 64-48 win in Hollinger in March 2024, which was part of a four-game winning streak for the Golden Rams over the Huskies. This four-game winning streak has West Chester trailing 6-4 in the last 10 meetings, dating back to a 56-55 loss on February 15, 2020, in Hollinger after earning a 74-64 win in Bloomsburg in January 2020, which halted a two-game losing streak.
Scouting Bloomsburg
Bloomsburg enters play coming off its second consecutive loss, a 76-73 loss to East Stroudsburg at home last Wednesday night. Bloomsburg jumped out to a 20-14 lead early but was outscored 22-15 in the second and 23-21 in the third to trail by three heading into the fourth. Bloomsburg went on a run early in the fourth but could never fully recover in a 76-73 setback to the visiting Warriors, who shot north of 50.0 % from the field in each of the last three quarters. Madison Maynard and Kelly Leszcynski tied for the team lead in scoring with 19 points each, and Maynard grabbed 12 rebounds to finish with a double-double in the loss. Olivia Selverian added 11 off the bench along with 10 from Alison Hatajik, who scored 10 points along with eight rebounds. Bloomsburg got off to a hot start offensively, shooting 8-for-15 (53.3 %) from the field, including a make from three-point range in the first quarter but never shot above 45 % from the field for the remainder of the game, finishing the night shooting 44.0 % (22-of-50) from the field and 33.3 % (5-for-15) from three-point range, while also going 24-for-36 (66.7 %) at the free throw line.
Bloomsburg enters play averaging 59.5 points per game on 40.4 % shooting from the field and 27.7 % shooting from beyond the arc, along with a 69.9 % effort at the free throw line. The Huskies also hold a slim 35.2-34.4 lead in rebounding and trail by just .6 turnovers, averaging 16.8 turnovers per game against just 16.2 on 7.2 steals per game by their opponents. Individually, Hatajik leads the team in scoring, averaging 11.0 points per game along with a team-best 7.4 rebounds per game. Leszcynski is second in scoring, averaging 9.0 points per game, and is first in assists, averaging 4.0 per game, along with 2.2 steals per game.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action next Wednesday at Shepherd, beginning at 5:30 after a bye this weekend. Following Wednesday night's game, West Chester will have two home games remaining as Lock Haven will visit Hollinger on February 21, and East Stroudsburg will come to town on the 28th for the regular-season finale.
