Rock women’s basketball won their conference opener last Friday, beating West Chester University 69-56 at Morrow Field House.
The Rock spread out their scoring, taking home the win with four players logging double-digit point totals.
“Different options offensively, everybody is a threat. I think we are just learning ourselves more with each quarter each game that we play,” head coach Ryenn Micaletti said.
A Michelle Kozicki layup got the scoring started for West Chester, but a layup and a jumper sandwiched between two Alyssa Gillin triples highlighted an SRU 10-point run to give The Rock an eight-point advantage.
The teams traded scores for much of the rest of the first quarter, though a Bella Mazur three-pointer brought the Golden Rams back within three by the end of the first period.
The White and Green would break out to a 12-point lead with four minutes left in the second quarter, but an Alainna Hopta-made three started a nine-point West Chester run that would cut the lead back to three where it would ultimately end by half.
The third quarter played out similarly, with The Rock getting out to an eight-point advantage, followed by a response from the Golden Rams that resulted in a 48-44 Rock lead by the end of the period.
At the midpoint of the fourth quarter, SRU started to take off. Up five with five minutes left, Regan Atkins sunk a three before Tahmala Thorpe went on a scoring run of her own.
In two minutes, Thorpe scored four straight times for The Rock. The Ontario native took the lead from six to 11 on three two-point jumpers and a free throw with one Golden Rams layup in between.
Kozicki scored one more time, but a Rebecca Goetz layup and two more Thorpe free throws set up the final score and gave The Rock their biggest lead of the night in the final seconds.
Thorpe’s big fourth quarter elevated the guard to 17 points to lead the White and Green, just ahead of Regan Atkins’s 16. Gillin and Sophia Hook were the other double-digit scorers, both at 10 points.
Thorpe also went a perfect 6-6 on free throws.
“[Thorpe] deserves it, she’s one of our captains, she’s a leader, she’s such a calming presence. When she is good, we are great,” Micaletti said. “I’m very proud of her and I’m just happy to have her here, leading us at The Rock.”
Goetz led The Rock with nine rebounds. Kayley Joseph-Bernard finished with eight and Atkins with seven.
Joseph-Bernard had the most assists on her team with five.
West Chester is coming off a 24-7 year where they won over 80% of their conference games, won a PSAC Tournament game and played in the NCAA Tournament.
After falling to these Golden Rams in their conference opener last year, The Rock are starting their Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) schedule off on the right foot this time around.
“It feels great. Kudos to West Chester, they do have a good team, and they are good year in and year out. Their coach does a fantastic job with that program,” Micaletti said. “I think it was great for the women we have in our locker room right now to see we can compete with the best. It’s not going to be easy, but we can compete with the best.”
SRU continued their homestand Saturday in another conference game against Millersville University at 1 p.m. before playing two out-of-conference games and one exhibition.
The Rock’s schedule then includes 18 straight PSAC games in their search to return to the PSAC Tournament.
“Ultimately, I think if we do what we need to do, we’ll end up exactly where we want to, which is at the top of the league,” Micaletti said.
