WEST CHESTER, Pa.- As the regular season enters its final week, the West Chester University women's basketball team (10-14, 6-12) returns home on Saturday afternoon to host PSAC East Regular Season champion Lock Haven (19-5, 15-3) in desperate need of a win to keep its PSAC Tournament aspirations alive entering the final week of the regular season. The opening tip of this important Eastern Division clash is set for 1 p.m.
West Chester vs Lock Haven
Game Details: February 21 I 1 P.M.
Location: Hollinger Field House (West Chester, Pa.)
Series: 38-17
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Happening on Saturday
Saturday's game will also be West Chester's annual PinkZone/Play-4-Kay game as the Golden Rams once again work to do their part in the fight against Breast Cancer. T-shirts supporting the cause, as well as raffle and 50-50 chances, will be on sale in the lobby throughout the afternoon.
Before the opening tip Saturday's men's basketball game, West Chester will honor longtime faculty member Dr. Tammy James as the first recipient of the PSAC LP Hill Award. Learn more about this honor
here.
Last Time Out
West Chester's playoff aspirations were dealt a blow on Wednesday night as the team lost to Shepherd on the road by a 77-63 final. West Chester fell behind early in the first but trailed by only two heading into the second. The Rams even led briefly in the second quarter, but the Golden Rams found a way to outscore the Rams in every quarter, allowing the hosts to pull away for a 77-63 victory on Wednesday night. West Chester and Shepherd both shot an identical 40.6 % (26-of-64) from the field on Wednesday, and West Chester, led by
Macie McCracken (North Wildwood, N.J./Wildwood), hit nine three's (9-for-18; 50 %) from three-point range but was just 2-for-3 at the line in the loss. McCracken scored in double figures for the ninth time this season, finishing with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field, including a 4-for-5 effort from beyond the arc, while
Mariana Papazoglou (North Wildwood, N.J/.Wildwood Catholic) and
Alivia Mauz (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) each finished with nine points in the road setback.
Flock Talk
West Chester enters play on Wednesday averaging 62.0 points per game on 40.1 % shooting from the field and 26.1 % shooting from beyond the arc, while also shooting 70.7 % at the free throw line. West Chester's opponents average 63.3 points per game on 37.8 % shooting from the field and 26.7 % shooting from three-point range, while also holding slim advantages in rebounding (38.0-37.8; -0.2) and turnovers (17.2; -0.4). West Chester has scored 1,487 (62.0) points on the season, and the Golden Rams' rookie class has accounted for 54.4 % (811) of the team's scoring, averaging 33.8 points per game through their first 24 collegiate games.
Lena Stein (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) and McCracken are a big part of this effort as they are first and second on the team in scoring, averaging 9.4 and 9.0 points per game, while Stein is also first on the team in rebounding, averaging 5.8 rebounds per game. Papazoglou is third in scoring, averaging 8.3 points per game, and is also second in rebounding, averaging 5.1 rebounds per game.
Kimi Sayson (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional) has been the starting point guard for much of the season and, in turn, leads the team in assists, averaging 2.6 assists per game, while Stein also leads the team in steals, averaging 1.7 steals per game.
Second Unit Strong
WCU ranks 17th in D2 and first in the PSAC in points off the bench, averaging 29.4 per game.
The Painters
After outscoring opponents in the paint in 24-of-30 games last year (976-534), West Chester is right back at its old tricks this season, outscoring opponents 740 (30.8)-638 (26.6) in the paint through its 23 Division II games of the season.
Home Sweet Home
West Chester remains hard to beat at home as the Golden Rams are 42-9 at home since January 2023 and are 51-17 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
West Chester dropped the first game of the series at Lock Haven earlier this season to fall to 38-17 against the Bald Eagles, but will have a chance on Saturday to pick up its third series split in a row with a win in Hollinger on Saturday afternoon. West Chester is 5-5 against Lock Haven in the last 10 meetings and is 16-7 against the Bald Eagles in Hollinger Field House since 1980.
Scouting Lock Haven
Lock Haven enters play on Saturday following its 13th consecutive win, a 70-59 triumph over East Stroudsburg, which lifted the Bald Eagles to their third consecutive PSAC Eastern Division crown. Lock Haven held a slim two-point lead after the first quarter and stretched its advantage to nine (33-24) at the half, which allowed the Bald Eagles to withstand a second-half surge by East Stroudsburg and earn a 70-59 victory over the visiting Warriors. Rhlyn Rhouse led the team in scoring with 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field, while Jenadia Jordan and Alana Robinson finished with 16 and 13 each as the second and third Bald Eagles in double figures. Lock Haven shot 46.0 % (23-of-50) from the field in the win, including a 3-for-12 (25.0 %) effort from three-point range, while also going 21-for-28 (75.0 %) at the line, including a 14-for-19 (73.4 %) effort from the stripe in the fourth quarter.
For the season, Lock Haven enters play averaging 71.1 points per game on 41.1 % shooting from the field and 28.7 % from three-point range, along with 73.6 % shooting at the line. Lock Haven limits opponents to 57.4 points per game on 35.8 % shooting from the field and 26.8 % shooting from beyond the arc, while also holding a 42.5-27.7 (+14.8) lead in rebounding. Individually, Alana Robinson leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.0 points per game, while Evans is second, averaging 14.3 per game. Evans also leads the team in rebounding, averaging 13.0 rebounds per game, while Jordan is first in assists, averaging 5.3 assists per game. Robinson also holds a lead in steals, averaging 2.5 per game, while Jordan averages 2.3 per game.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action next Wednesday at Millersville, beginning at 5:30 p.m., before concluding the regular season at home against East Stroudsburg next Saturday at 1 p.m.
