Golden Rams fall in PSAC women’s semifinal

Playing in its first semifinal since the 2017-18 season, the West Chester University women’s basketball team (22-8) lost to California (Pa), 62-59, in the PSAC Tournament semifinals Saturday afternoon. The game featured 11 lead changes and four ties, but the second-seeded Vulcans used a late-game comeback to earn the victory over the topseeded Golden Rams.

First Team All-Conference honoree Emily McAteer led all scorers with a career-high 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting while also coming away with six rebounds. Fellow first team selection Leah Johnson was the other Golden Ram in double figures, finishing with 12 points in the loss. West Chester’s Michelle Kozicki led all fourth-quarter scorers with six points.

An 18-4 run by California, which spanned the late stages of the third until the midway point of the fourth, was the difference maker for the Vulcans on Saturday afternoon. West Chester led by as many as eight in the third and never trailed by more than five until midway through the fourth, but this run erased the Golden Rams second-half lead and gave the Vulcans a lead they would never relinquish. The Vulcans are returning to the PSAC Championship game for the fifth time since 2015, and their win snapped the Golden Rams’ 15-game winning streak.

McAteer had a tremendous first half, scoring 16 in the first 20 minutes of basketball on an impressive 7-of-8 shooting effort to help West Chester hold a halftime lead. West Chester ended the game with a 33-29 lead in rebounding, led by seven rebounds by Anna McTamney. Despite this lead in rebounding, West Chester collected just eight offensive rebounds and mustered just two second-chance points; however, West Chester did end the game with a 36-26 lead in points in the paint.

West Chester will now await the decision of the Division II Women’s Basketball Selection Committee to learn its NCAA Tournament fate, with the show set to air on NCAA.com tonight at 10:30 p.m. West Chester, who was ranked third in the final Atlantic Regional rankings, is seeking its first Tournament appearance since the 2017-18 season, and its fourth since the 2015 season, when PSAC East Coach of the Year Kiera Wooden assumed control of the Golden Rams.

College Women’s Lacrosse WEST CHESTER 19, JEFFERSON 10 >>

Keri Barnett scored four goals, and Madeline Edinger and Hannah Stanislawczyk each added a hat trick as No. 4 West Chester downed visiting Jefferson on a blistery, blustery Saturday afternoon at Vonnie Gros Field. West Chester (30) took control of the game early with a six-goal run, most of that coming in the first quarter, that put the Golden Rams out in front 7-1 moments into the second frame. Brenna Smith, Julia Littlewood (a Conestoga High School alum) and Lindsay Monigle each scored a pair of goals. Jessica Gorr (a Bishop Shanahan alum) made four saves in 49 minutes in the cage.

Baseball IMMACULATA 13, AVERETT 3 >>

The Mighty Macs picked up their first victory of the season Saturday in the Armstrong Invitational on the campus of Methodist University. Senior Ryan Crowell pitched five innings of three hit baseball and racked up six strikeouts to earn the win on the mound. Senior Josh Crowding led the Mighty Macs offense, going 2-for-4 with four RBIs, a double and a walk. Frank Margiotta went 3-for-4 with four runs scored out of the leadoff spot. Joey Sacco (2for-5, double, two RBIs), Steven Theisen (double, two RBIs) and Jay Lawrence (2for-4, two RBIs) helped round out the scoring output. Sacco racked up three stolen bases, while Margiotta and Theisen each added one of their own. WEST CHESTER SPLITS TWINBILL >> J.R. Gifford hit a three-run home run, and Julian Costa picked up his third save of the season, as West Chester University split a non-league doubleheader with Saint Thomas Aquinas College (STAC) at the U.S. Baseball National Training Center Saturday afternoon. STAC won the opener, 8-0, then the Golden Rams came back for a 7-5 win in the second game. West Chester (8-2) finally got its bats going in the middle innings of the nightcap, scoring four runs in the third inning. Gifford hit a three-run homer in the third, his third of the season, to highlight the breakout frame. Zack Miles had a RBI single before Gifford came to the plate. Evan Profy hit an RBI single in the fourth, and Joe Kaleck hit a RBI double for the pair of runs that staked West Chester to a 6-2 lead. John DeMucci had the RBI single in the fifth that upped the Golden Rams’ lead to 7-2. Profy finished game two 3-for-3 with a RBi and a run scored. Gifford was 2-for-3, and Kaleck finished 2-for-4 with the RBI double.

Softball GOLDEN RAMS SWEEP DOUBLEHEADER >>

Mairead Hopkins (a West Chester Rustin High School alum) hit a pair of home runs, and West Chester University (5-4) got a pair of stellar pitching performances from freshman pitchers Samantha Klug and Danielle Ciliberto as the Golden Rams swept a doubleheader against Jefferson (1-3) by a final of 8-0 in game one and 7-0 in the nightcap. Klug, who was named PSAC East Pitcher of the Week a week ago, pitched a no-hitter in the opener, allowing just one walk while striking out four. WCU catcher Abby Quinn had a great day behind the plate, throwing out three runners from behind the dish, registering a pair of caught stealings before coming through with a pickoff in the seventh inning of game two victory over the Rams.

Men’s Volleyball

MIGHTY MACS WIN PAIR >> The Immaculata men’s volleyball team (7-10) swept their doubleheader at Wilson College 3-0 and 3-1. The Mighty Macs’ seven wins are a new single-season program record. Junior setter Joe Martell, who had 61 assists in the doubleheader sweep, now has 954 career assists. In the first match, Immaculata posted scores of 25-17, 25-19 and 25-21. John Bohrer led the Mighty Macs offensively with nine kills and one service ace, Garrett Pepper and Jack Debes each had eight kills, Martell distributed 31 assists and on the defensive side, Matthew Pfister led the Macs with 12 digs. Pepper had 11 digs, and Bohrer had six digs. In the second match, Immaculata posted scores of 25-22, 25-21, 24-26, and 26-24. Pepper led Immaculata with 18 kills and two service aces. Steeven Dao had eight kills, and Debes had six kills, while Martell had 30 assists for the Macs. Immaculata was led defensively by Pepper and Bohrer, who each had 13 digs, while Martell had 11 digs and three blocks.

Men’s Lacrosse KEAN 20, IMMACULATA 4 >>

David Azzarano scored two goals for the Mighty Macs, while Nicholas DeFilippo and Anthony Inserra rounded out the scoring for Immaculata with one goal each.