WEST CHESTER, Pa. – It was a great run for the Millersville women's basketball team, posting an 18-12 overall record and going 12-10 in PSAC play in the 2022-23 season. The Marauders' put forth their best effort on Wednesday night, but ultimately couldn't overcome the No. 1 seeded Golden Rams who continued their win streak and ended Millersville's season.
"Tonight was tough," said head coach Sharay Hall. " West Chester was seeded No. 1 for a reason, they're a very efficient team and we couldn't get any shots to fall. I thought we let our offense dictate our defense which took us out of our game. We continued to fight, but kudos to West Chester, they had a great game tonight."
West Chester's resistant performance held a Millersville offense to scoring just six points in the first quarter, which created a deficit the Marauders would never recover from. Despite an even scoring of 16 points from both teams in the second, Millersville would still trail the Golden Rams at the half by 21 points. The Marauders' battled to shrink the gap in the third and fourth quarters, but West Chester's lead was far too great, defeating Millersville 76-61 and advancing to the PSAC semifinals.
Marking her 22nd game this season with double-digits and tallying her fifth game with a double-double was Taylor Langan. The guard was the only Marauder in double-figures, scoring 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Jillian Crawford was efficient off the bench as she scored eight points for Millersville in just three minutes. Bria Beverly, Jaida Parker, Makiah Shaw, and Marin Miller scored six points each. Totaling just two points on the night was La'Shyra Williams, Brenna Ortwein, Madison Grubb, and Alyssa Rodriques.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- A struggling Marauder offense went 3-for-18 from the floor. Langan accounted for four of Millersville's six points, while Williams tallied her only points of the night from a layup. West Chester went on a 10-0 run before Millersville could get on the board. The Golden Rams shot 56.25% from the floor, 2-for-5 behind the arc, and drained all seven free throws.
- Millersville seemed to turn their offense around, going 6-for-14 in field goals and draining two three-pointers in the second quarter. The Marauders shortened their deficit to 11 points with 5:51 till the half, but West Chester's efficiency outscored Millersville 12-2 to close the second quarter and lead Millersville 43-22.
- West Chester's defense continued to limit the Marauders as the Golden Rams outscored Millersville 24-11 in the third quarter. Shooting 3-for-15 from the floor and 5-for-10 from the free throw line, Millersville would trail West Chester by 34 points to enter the final quarter of action. The Marauders were held to single digits until Langan's two free throws with 0:24 second remaining would tally their 11th point of the quarter.
- The Marauders saw their best shooting of the night in the fourth quarter, shooting 75% from the floor and going 2-for-5 behind the arc. Millersville would outscore the Golden Rams 28-9 in the final quarter of action, but their deficit was too great and the Marauders fell in Hollinger Field House by 15 points.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Miller led the Marauders in steals with five.
- Millersville held the edge in second chance points (15-14) and bench points (20-10).
- West Chester was held to shooting 20% from the floor in the fourth.
- The Golden Rams forced 10 Millersville turnovers compared to their 7.
- Millersville and West Chester both accounted for 39 rebounds, the Marauders grabbed 26 on the defensive end.
FINAL THOUGHTS FROM HEAD COACH SHARAY HALL
- "This was a complete turnaround from year one. No one expected us to do this well with such a young team. I couldn't be prouder of the resiliency from the players this season. I said in the locker room after the game, iron sharpens iron. As a unit, everyone did their job everyday. I'm very proud of this team and I'm excited for the future of Millersville women's basketball. I think the best is yet to come!"
