With a playoff berth on the line, the West Chester University Lady Rams showed why they were the preseason favorites in the PSAC East entering this season. This week the Lady Rams defeated the Shippensburg University Red Raiders on the road in overtime and dominated the East Stroudsburg University Warriors at home to end the regular season in thrilling fashion.On Saturday, a day in which West Chester was honoring their senior basketball players, it was the Lady Rams’ seniors who led the way in the 88-69 defeat of East Stroudsburg. Five players scored in double figures, led by senior forward Renata Neal who finished with a game-high 16 points.
Senior co-captain Natalie Winters had her best game of the season finishing with 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal. Winters finished 5-for-6 from the field and 3-for-3 from behind the arc.
West Chester (18-9, 8-6 PSAC East) jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead two minutes into the game and never looked back from there. The Lady Rams held a 19-point lead (27-8) nine minutes into the first half after Winters sank her first three-pointer of the afternoon.
West Chester’s lead bloomed to as many as 20 points in the half before East Stroudsburg went on a mini-run to go into the half down by 11 (44-33). The Lady Rams shot 50 percent (16-32) from the field in the half and 60 percent from behind the arc. West Chester assisted on 11 of their 16 made baskets.
The second half was much like the first half as the Lady Rams pushed their lead to a game-high of 26 within the first six minutes of the half. Junior guard Dominique Adams buried two three-pointers in that span to help West Chester increase their lead.
The Warriors made runs throughout the half but were unable to get any closer than 14 points throughout the second half. The Lady Rams lead by 20 or more points throughout the majority of the second half and shot their way into the playoffs.
With the game well in hand, head coach Deirdre Kane ceremoniously brought her seniors (Janelle Garber, Bridget Carlin, Neal and Winters) out of the game to get their rightful cheers from the crowd. Carlin finished with a game-high eight assists off the bench to help in the victory.
Sophomore guard Allison Hostetter finished with 12 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block. Adams contributed with 10 points and sophomore Jill Keefer finished with 10 points and three steals off the bench.
Barb Borst and Mel Villano led East Stroudsburg with 14 points apiece. DeAnna Rayam finished the game with 11 points, six assists, five rebounds, four steals and two blocks.
West Chester shot 51.5 percent from the field for the game and 57.1 percent from behind the arc. They also had 25 assists on 34 made baskets.
The Warriors shot 33.9 percent from the field in the loss and 38.1 percent from behind the arc.
The Lady Rams forced 27 turnovers, while turning the ball over 19 times on their own.
On Wednesday, in one of the biggest games this season, West Chester came from behind to defeat Shippensburg 85-80 to sweep the season series from the Red Raiders this season. The loss marked only the second time this season that Shippensburg has lost when scoring over 70 points in a game.
The Lady Rams trailed the entire first half, before getting a lead late before halftime. The Red Raiders led by 15 points within the first nine minutes of play as the leading scorer in the PSAC’s history, Lauren Beckley, led the way. Shippensburg made three three-pointers in that span to open up the game.
In the final 11 minutes of the first half, West Chester began to take control of the game. The Lady Rams went on a 25-9 run to end the half and take a one-point lead.
Neal led West Chester with nine first half points as the Lady Rams showcased a balanced offensive attack. Neal was one of six West Chester players who had four or more points in the half.
In the second half, Shippensburg came out on a mission as Beckley and Kasey Gardner led the Red Raiders to a 10-point lead 11 minutes into the half.
Shippensburg led by 10 points with 3:52 left and that is when West Chester began their run. Kane had her team put on a full-court press and Megan Stewart got a steal and converted a quick layup to get within eight points of the Red Raiders.
“I told them if we were going down, we were going down fighting – so get in their shorts,” Kane said. “They did not want any part of our pressure.”
Following the timeout, Stewart got another steal and got the ball to freshman Alex Lennon who made a layup and decreased the lead to six (66-60). With the continued pressure on the Shippensburg ball handlers, Keefer got another steal for the Lady Rams, this time getting the ball to Stewart who converted a layup.
With two minutes left and trailing by seven points following two free throws by Beckley, West Chester continued in their quest for the comeback victory. Keefer and Hostetter hit back-to-back three-point shots to cut the deficit to one-point with a minute remaining in the half.
Stewart tied the game at 70 by converting a layup with 21 seconds left which sent the game in overtime. As the overtime period ensued, it was apparent that West Chester had the momentum.
In the overtime period, the Lady Rams never trailed as they carried over the momentum they had gained from the comeback in the later parts of the second half. Garber got things started for West Chester as she converted a layup in the opening seconds.
The Lady Rams led by as many as eight points in the extra session as Keefer, Lennon and Winters led the way.
Stewart, who led five players in double-figures, scored a career-high 25 points, dished out eight assists, recorded five steals and grabbed four rebounds on the evening to lead West Chester. Lennon finished with a career-high 13 points and six rebounds. Neal, Hostetter and Keefer finished with 11 points apiece. Neal also grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds.
“Megan Stewart willed us to win that game,” Kane said.
All five starters for Shippensburg scored in double-figures. Beckley led the Red Raiders with 27 points and 20 rebounds. Gardner (17 points and five rebounds), Caitlin Bamberger (13 points), Sheila Wasser (11 points, seven rebounds and 5 assists) and Kerry Conroy (10 points and 11 assists) also contributed for Shippensburg.
The Lady Rams shot 40.8 percent from the field and 50 percent from behind the arc. They scored 30 bench points compared to two for the Red Raiders. West Chester outrebounded the Shippensburg 48-43. The Red Raiders shot 40 percent from the field and 50 percent from behind the arc.
“This victory was necessary to keep this team together for the post season,” Kane said. “I love this team and they love each other.”
CLEARING THE NOTEBOOK
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Megan Stewart. The junior point guard averaged 16.5 points, 5.5 assists, four steals and two rebounds this week. In the biggest comeback of the year against Shippensburg on Wednesday, Stewart scored a career-high 25 points.
UPCOMING GAMES: On Tuesday at 7 p.m. the Lady Rams travel to Millersville to face the Lady Marauders in the opening round of the PSAC Playoffs. The game can be heard live and exclusively on 91.7 WCUR-FM.
WHERE THEY STAND: After the completion of regular season play for the 2009-2010 season, West Chester finished in fourth place, behind Millersville, Kutztown and Bloomsburg in the PSAC East.
LJ Harrell is a fourth-year student majoring in Marketing. He can be reached at LH639694@wcupa.edu.