Box Score WEST CHESTER, Pa. – After being limited to eight points in the first half, senior guard
Brittany Sicinski (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) recorded 17 in the second half for a team-high 25 to lead host West Chester past visiting East Stroudsburg, 70-65, in the quarterfinals of the PSAC Tournament inside Hollinger Field House Wednesday night.
West Chester (21-6), the top seed and the regular-season champion out of the Eastern Division, advances to the PSAC Semifinals where it will take on Indiana (Pa.) on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m., which will be played at California (Pa.) University. East Stroudsburg (15-13), the four-seed in the East, saw its season come to an end with the loss. The Golden Rams set up a rematch with IUP, after WCU shocked the Crimson Hawks, 92-79, back in November at the Kovalcheck Center. East Stroudsburg went into the break up by four, after going on a 14-6 run to conclude the first half, but could not finish it out in the second half.
It was a nail biter until the end with both teams exchanging free throws in the final five minutes of the game. With 39 seconds left, East Stroudsburg had a chance to tie it up, but the Warriors' inbounds pass was deflected by the Golden Rams'
Anna Kuntz's (Camp Hill, Pa./Trinity), as she face-guarded Allison Howard, leading to a West Chester steal and a 30-second timeout with control of the ball. Seconds later,
Dallas Ely (Montrose, Pa./Montrose) went to the line and
converted her 14th and 15th points of the night for West Chester.
The eighth and final tie of the game came with 1:38 remaining in the contest. However, West Chester made six of its final eight free throws to pull away from East Stroudsburg down the stretch. Leading the way were the two seniors, who have combined to score over 3,000 points in their illustrious careers.
Sicinski hit a driving layup to tie the game at 64-apiece with 1:38 left. Ely was a perfect 4-for-4 from the line while Sicinski sank two of her four attempts the rest of the way. Meanwhile, the visiting Warriors managed just one made free throw over the final 98 seconds.
Sicinski went on a personal 8-1 run over a four-minute span in the third quarter that turned a two-point deficit into a five-point lead (43-38) for the Golden Rams with just under four minutes to play in the frame. It was that run that may have proved to be the turning point of the second half for the Rams. With ESU gaining confidence point-by-point, West Chester needed to shift the momentum in its favor, and Sicinski was there to answer the bell.
Warriors' finished the game with four players in double-figures Imani Brown led them with 18 points. Melissa Poderis added 11 points while Rebecca Rutkowski and Allison Howard both contributed 10 points and nine rebounds in the loss.
Notes: West Chester improves to 17-24 all-time in the PSAC Tournament while beating East Stroudsburg in the first-ever postseason meeting with the Warriors ... West Chester advances to the PSAC Semifinals for the second straight year and four of the last five ... WCU head coach Kiera Wooden improves to 3-1 in the PSAC Tournament ... Dallas Ely now has 1,589 points in her college career while Brittany Sicinski has scored 1,585.
