Complete Game Notes

GAME INFORMATION
Millersville (10-4, 7-3 PSAC) vs. West Chester (8-6, 5-5 PSAC)
Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013 - 1 p.m.
Hollinger Fieldhouse, West Chester, Pa.

MEDIA INFORMATION
Audio Broadcast (MSBN)
Live Stats

SERIES INFORMATION
Series vs. WCU: 44-33
Series Streak: WCU, 1
First Meeting: 1969-70 (MU 61, WCU 52)
Last Meeting: 2012 (WCU 64, MU 57 - PSAC Tournament)
Last 10: 5-5
Mary Fleig vs. West Chester: 29-23
Deirdre Kane vs. Millerville: 24-34

THE STARTING FIVE
(1) The women's team is coming off its second-largest win of the year against Cheyney Wednesday night. The team dropped the winless Wolves by 30 points, 64-34, to make Millersville 10-4 (7-3 PSAC). In the game all but one Marauder player scored, with Aurielle Mosley and Yasmin Cooper pacing the team at nine points each. Mosley connected on all four of her field goal attempts and her only free throw attempt, giving her 13-straight makes from the line as well as blocking three Cheyney shots, good for most on the team. Cooper added a team-leading seven rebounds. Senior point guard Mashira Newman added a team-best six steals, tying her season-high. The team defensive effort was key in the win, as Millersville tied its highest steals total in a game for the season and allowed the fewest points since the 2009-10 season-opener on Nov. 20, 2009, when the team allowed 33 points in a 69-33 victory over the University of District of Columbia.

(2) This 2012-13 edition of the Marauders makes its mark by cracking down on the defensive end, and is versatile defensively to boot. In a stat not tracked by the NCAA called “stocks” (steals-plus-blocks) which measures defensive versatility, Millersville is not only the PSAC's best, but ranks among the country's elite. As of Jan. 14 (before Wednesday night's game in which the Marauders totaled 25 “stocks”), the Marauders ranked third in the nation in steals-plus-blocks combined at 19.7 per game. The team trailed only Clayton State (NCAA-best 21.5 per game) and Academy of Art (20.1 per game) to rank third in the country. Additionally, Millersville joins just Clayton State as the only two teams to rank in the top-16 nationally in both steals and blocks per game. Only three teams in the PSAC rank in the top-50 in both categories: Edinboro posts 16.3 “stocks” per game, but better than the Fighting Scots is none other than West Chester, which ranks second in the PSAC to Millersville with 17.0 “stocks” per game.

(3) Further highlighting the defensive prowess of Millersville's upcoming game, Millersville-West Chester pits the conference's top two leading shot blockers against each other in the paint on Saturday. Mosley blocks 2.6 shots per game, second only to Golden Ram Alex Lennon's 3.6 per game rate. In addition, the Marauders boast three of the top six players in steals in the PSAC, with Newman ranking first (3.2 per game), Celeste Robinson at third (2.6) and Senada Mehmedovic at sixth (2.4).

(4) The Marauders and Golden Rams have a long history, with 77 meetings between the teams and Millersville holding a 44-33 edge. Further, the road team on Saturday has been solid all-time at Hollinger Fieldhouse, winning 19 of its 36 trips to West Chester in the all-time meetings. Looking at the coaching matchup, Marauder head coach Mary Fleig has been successful in her clashes with Deirdre Kane, holding a 29-23 lead in the head-to-head record between the two.

(5) Millersville will have to like its chances Saturday if it can go into the locker rooms leading or tied with West Chester at the break. The Marauders have not lost a game this season when leading at intermission (9-0, 5-0 PSAC) or when tied after the first 20 minutes (1-0, 1-0 PSAC). The road team will also hope its defense can clamp down enough to hold the Golden Rams to 60 points or less, a tough task for a team that averages 70.4 per game. The Ville is undefeated (7-0, 6-0 PSAC) when allowing 60 points or less.

ABOUT CHEYNEY
· West Chester enters Saturday's crucial PSAC East battle at 8-6 overall and 5-5 in PSAC action. For the 26th-straight year, Deirdre Kane walks the sideline as the team's head coach. Kane, the winningest coach in program history, has coached the Golden Rams to 18 winning seasons, including a 413-289 record, and appears to be on her way to adding another successful season to her resume in 2012-13.
· This season, the Golden Rams have been as streaky as they come, not alternating wins and losses once in 14 games. West Chester started its season by winning three-straight games, including two in the Carol Eckman Memorial Classic at home. Following that string, Saturday's home team dropped back-to-back games before winning another two in a row. After those back-to-back wins to put the team's record at 5-2, West Chester slipped again in two-straight before its most recent winning streak, which hit three against PSAC West opponents Clarion, Lock Haven and Mercyhurst, respectively. Currently, the Golden Rams have hit another two-game skid, dropping successive games to Gannon and Kutztown heading into their matchup with the Marauders.
· As strong as Millersville is this season defensively, there is no reason to believe the Golden Rams can't score point-for-point with the Marauders Saturday at Hollinger Fieldhouse. While Millersville ranks fourth in the PSAC in scoring at 70.6 points per game, West Chester is nipping at the Marauders' heels with the fifth-best scoring offense in the conference at 70.4 points per game. The problem for the Golden Rams, despite their anchor in the paint Alexandra Lennon, is their defense. West Chester gives up 66.7 points per game, ranking 12th in the PSAC and giving the team only a plus-3.7 point per game scoring differential. However, that close scoring differential could actually work in the Golden Rams' favor come Saturday, as they are 2-1 in games decided by five points or less, while the Marauders have not won a game in that scenario in their own three chances.
· One of the biggest aspects in West Chester's game that keeps the team in contests is the strength of the Golden Rams' 3-point shooting. They are second to only Gannon in terms of 3-point field goal percentage at 34.6 percent as a team and second in 3-pointers made per game with 7.7 threes made each game. But it again comes back the Golden Rams' defense, particularly on the perimeter. Their inability to defend that part of the court is evident by the fact that they allow a PSAC-worst 32.6 opponent field goal percentage from deep. Combine that with Millersville's third-best 3-point shooting percentage in the conference, and it could spell trouble for West Chester.
· The Golden Rams also boast a balanced offense, with three players (Lennon, 11.3 points per game; Dallas Ely, 11.1; and Brittany Sicinski, 10.1) in double-figure scoring per game, as well as a fourth player right on the cusp of double digits; Ambreelinne Ortman scores at a 9.9 point per game pace. Lennon is the anchor in the middle, leading the team and the conference with 51 blocks and pulling down a team-best 8.4 rebounds per game.
· Ely has clearly been given the green light to let it fly from downtown, attempting 62 3-pointers on the season and scoring efficiently from deep, shooting 3-pointers at 37.1 percent pace to rank third among all conference players. As many attempts as Ely gets up, Jasmen Clark gets up her own amount of 3-point shots, posting a team-high 72. Clark, however, has hit on just 29.2 percent of her shots from distance so far.
· But for as much as the Golden Rams try to surround Lennon with perimeter shooters, the 6-2 senior forward is clearly the team's best player. She has hit for at least 18 points on five different occasions with four double-digit rebound games and three double-doubles. Further, she took home a PSAC East Athlete of the Week award following the fourth week of the season.