Women’s Basketball Falls to West Chester, 74-69

West Chester, Pa. – West Chester University sophomore Alex Lennon scored a game-high 26 points as the Golden Rams defeated the Holy Family University women's basketball team, 74-69, in a non-conference contest at the Hollinger Field House Saturday afternoon.

Holy Family, ranked eighth in the recent USA Today/ESPN Division II National Top-25 Coaches' Poll, is now 4-2 overall, while West Chester improves to 5-1 overall.

Sophomore Erin Mann (West Chester, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) (West Chester, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) scored a team-high 20 points and nine rebounds to lead Holy Family. Mann also collected two steals and had a blocked shot. Graduate student Samantha Thompson (Southampton, Pa./St. Basils) (Southampton, Pa./St. Basil's) tallied 19 points after shooting 8-of-14 from the field, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.

Senior Meghan Gibson (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) finished with 11 points, six boards and a team-best six assists, while fellow classmate Catherine Carr (Bernardsville, N.J./Bernards) (Bernardsville, N.J./Bernards) added ten points and seven rebounds. Carr also dished out three assists and collected four steals.

For West Chester, Lennon recorded seven rebounds to go along with her game-high 26 points, while shooting 11-of-15 from the field. Junior Allison Hostetter finished with 13 points, while senior Megan Stewart added 12 points to go along with six rebounds and eight assists.

West Chester entered halftime with a double-digit lead after shooting over 50-percent from the field in the half to lead 38-28. The Golden Rams limited Holy Family to 23.5-percent shooting from the field in the first half.

In the second half, Holy Family cut West Chester's lead to two points after going on an 8-1 run capped by a pair of free throws by freshman Mary Ellen McCollum (Abington, Pa./St. Basil Academy) (Abington, Pa./St. Basil's) at the 13:23 mark to make the score 48-46.

However, West Chester responded with a 13-3 run to increase its lead to 61-49 with less than ten minutes remaining in the second half.

Later in the half, with West Chester leading by 13 points, Holy Family began chipping away at the lead and came within three points after Thompson drained a three-pointer to make it 72-69 with 1:05 left on the clock. The Golden Rams were ahead 68-55 with 3:18 remaining.

In the end, West Chester held off the Holy Family rally and preserved the 74-69 victory after converting a pair of free throws in the final three seconds of regulation.

Holy Family is back in action on Saturday, December 11 against Georgian Court University in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference road contest. Game time is slated for 12 p.m.

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