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FAIRMONT, W.V.- The West Chester University women's basketball team (24-6) is finishing its preparations ahead of its first game of the 2024 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament against Fairmont State (26-5) on Friday evening beginning at 5 p.m. Friday's game will pit the seventh-seeded Golden Rams against the second-seeded/Mountain East Conference Champion Fairmont State Falcons, is the first meeting between the two regional foes since the 2006 season and just the fourth all-time between the two squads.

The Golden Rams return to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time under the tutelage of head coach Kiera Wooden, who is completing her 10^th season at the helm of the Golden Rams. A year ago, West Chester started its Tournament campaign as the highest seed in program history (third) and earned its first NCAA Tournament win in 20 years with a victory over California in the Round of 64, thanks to an unforgettable 44-point effort from Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame). West Chester rode this momentum to a victory over seventh-seeded Charleston (W.V.) before falling to host Glenville State in the first Regional Championship game appearance by a West Chester University basketball team in Golden Rams DII history.

After practice on Friday afternoon, head coach Kiera Wooden said, "We are excited to be back in the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row. It's always an exciting place to be, and getting here two years in a row is even more exciting. We've been practicing hard and focusing on the little details that lead to our execution, so I think we will be ready tomorrow night. Having been here before is certainly a nice feeling for our group as they have a pretty good idea of what to expect, and West Virginia feels almost like a second home to us at this point after last year. Our experience will definitely help, but we must also recognize that it's a new year and a different opponent. Fairmont State plays high-intensity defense and can score quickly down the other end, so we certainly have to make sure we are prepared for that. I think this group is very excited to be back here, and playing with high energy like this can help solve a lot of problems this time of year."

Fan Information

Tickets: Tickets are available for purchase under the "TICKET" tab of FightingFalcons.com, and they can also be purchased here. Tickets are general admission and $15.00 for Friday, March 15, and Saturday, March 16. A two-day pass is also available for both the first and second rounds; they are $25.00. There is no reserved seating, so all seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Live Stream: NCAA Digital has partnered with Hudl to stream all eligible games from the Division II Women's Basketball and Men's Basketball Championships in Winter 2024, including the regionals. All games will be webcast on www.ncaa.com, the Hudl platform, and an OTT app, "NCAA Championships Pass." 

Fans will have three viewing options: $9.95 per contest, $29.95 for all Division II Women's Basketball Championship games, excluding the semifinals and championship game, and $49.95 for all Division II Women's and Men's Basketball Championship games, excluding the semifinals and championship games. The semifinals and finals of the DII Women's Basketball Championship will be carried on CBS Sports Network. The semifinals and finals of the DII Men's Basketball Championship will continue to be carried on CBS Sports Network and CBS, respectively.

Series Information

West Chester returns to the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row, making its first back-to-back appearance since the 2015 and 2016 seasons, the lone other time this occurred for the Golden Rams. West Chester, the seventh seed in the Tournament, will start its campaign with a matchup against second-seeded/MEC Champion Fairmont State on Friday at 5 p.m. inside the Feaster Center in Fairmont, West Virginia. West Chester will face FSU for the fourth time in its history and the first time since 2006 as the Golden Rams search for their first victory over the Falcons. This is the latest the two teams have ever met, as the previous three meetings have come in the first half of the season (November-December).

With a Win

With a win, West Chester would advance to the Round of 32 for the second consecutive year, marking the first time in program history that West Chester advanced out of the Opening Round in successive years. West Chester would also match the 1991-92 team for the most wins in program history, surpassing the high-water mark of 24 wins under head coach Kiera Wooden, which the Golden Rams have accomplished twice in her tenure and three times in their Division II history.

West Chester would face the winner of the #3 Fayetteville State vs #6 Indiana (Pa.) (IUP) game, which is set to be played at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. The winner of the Round of 32 game on Saturday night will face the winner of the four-team Gannon pod at the home of the highest remaining seed in the Atlantic Regional Championship game on Tuesday, March 19.  

Flock Talk

West Chester put its 16-game unbeaten streak to the test on Saturday afternoon against No. 4/3 Gannon in the PSAC Semifinals. In a game that featured 12 ties and 12 lead changes, West Chester led for just under 19 minutes and never trailed by more than 10 until the waning seconds of regulation, but the top-five ranked Golden Knights proved too much in a 79-73 setback in Lock Haven. Samantha Pirosko led Gannon on Saturday, pouring in a career-high 40 points and 19 rebounds as one of three Gannon players in double figures. For WCU, Emily McAteer (Thornton, Pa./Garnet Valley) and Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) scored 23 and 21 points, respectively, with a 15-point/10-rebound effort from Michelle Kozicki (Wilmington, Del./Padua) and a season-high 11 points from Morgan Warley (West Chester, Pa./Villa Maria) in the setback. West Chester shot an outstanding 57.1 % from the field in the first quarter but never shot above 42.0 % the rest of the way, shooting 41.3 % (26-of-63) from the field and 17.6 % (3-of-17) from beyond the arc while also hitting 18-of-23 at the line.

West Chester started the 2023 season with four straight victories, including three of which came by 20 points or more as the team posted an 85-56 victory over Livingstone, a 69-21 win over Wilmington, and a 71-51 victory over Chestnut Hill. Jefferson, who remains in the top five in Division II, halted the Golden Ram's early season winning streak with a 75-63 victory over head coach Kiera Wooden's charges, marking Jefferson's first win over the Purple and Gold since 2019. West Chester countered quickly with another three-game winning streak, sweeping its opening weekend of PSAC Crossover Play, defeating Slippery Rock and Edinboro before concluding non-league play with a 74-56 thrashing of Lincoln. West Chester dropped four of its next five contests, falling to Mercyhurst, Gannon, California, and Lock Haven, but bounced back with a 15-game winning streak to end the regular season. This winning streak ballooned to 16 games in the PSAC Tournament as the Golden Rams rolled past Kutztown in the Quarterfinals by a 69-42 margin before falling to Gannon in a heartbreaker on Saturday afternoon in Lock Haven.

Similarly to a year ago, balance has been one of, if not the biggest asset for the Golden Rams in 2023-24 as four players average in double figures on the year with 18 combined double-doubles and two triple-doubles out of this quartet. PSAC East Player of the Year, Johnson ranks second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.9 points per game, while also ranking third in rebounding (5.2/g) and first in assists (5.8/g), which ranks seventh best in Division II. Fellow First Team All-PSAC East selection McAteer leads the team in scoring, averaging 17.9 points per game, which also ranks among the league leaders in the PSAC. McAteer also ranks second on the team in rebounding, averaging 7.0 per game, which trails only back-to-back Second Team All-PSAC selection Kozicki, who averages 7.4 rebounds and 10.4 points per game. Kozicki also holds a slim lead in double-doubles on the year, compiling seven, including one in the setback vs Gannon on Saturday afternoon. McAteer, who recorded the most double-doubles by a Golden Ram under Wooden a year ago, is a close second, entering the NCAA Tournament with six to her name this season.  Anna McTamney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) made headlines earlier this month with a 27-point (including 21 in the first half) performance in the PSAC Quarterfinals vs Kutztown and, in doing so, elevated herself to third on the team in scoring, averaging 10.9 points per game. McTamney was the fourth and final Golden Ram to earn All-PSAC honors this year as the junior guard was named a Second Team All-East player for the second time in as many years.

The 2024 edition of the NCAA Tournament will look a bit different to fans, and with good reason, as the Atlantic Regional Tournament will see its first two rounds played at split sites for the first time in recent memory. This oddity, created by Gannon earning the top seed in the men's and women's regional Tournaments, was set to occur with IUP in 2020 before the Tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. With that in mind, West Chester is one of four teams preparing to open its Tournament in West Virginia this weekend, joined by Fairmont State, Indiana (Pa.), and CIAA Champion Fayetteville State. West Chester enters the Tournament with a record of 0-3 all-time against Fairmont State and a mark of 10-16 vs. IUP, while a Round of 32 matchups vs. Fayetteville State would be the first matchup in program history between the Golden Rams and Broncos. Averaging 71.4 points per game, led by 17.9 per game from McAteer, West Chester enters the weekend with the second-best offense in the pod, trailing only Fairmont State, who averages 77.3 points per game, led by 17.9 from Alyssa DeAngelo. While the Golden Rams offense's net offensive output ranks among the best in the Regional, West Chester is third in field goal percentage, shooting 43.3 % on the year, trailing IUP (44.6 %) and Fairmont State (44.0 %). Kozicki ranks second in the Pod in rebounding, trailing only Nyshae Weaver of IUP, who averages 10.0 rebounds per game. Johnson remains the Atlantic Region leader in assists, dishing out an average of 5.8 per game after providing five or more helpers in 20 of 30 games this season.

As a unit, the Golden Rams' efforts inside have been very impressive this season. West Chester has outscored its opponents 946-546 in points in the paint and shot 47.6 % on two-point field goal attempts while also shooting 77.1 % from the line, which ranks second-best in program history, trailing only the team's 77.2 % shooting effort a year ago. West Chester also ranks among the Regional leaders in rebounding, averaging 40.5 rebounds per game, an average of eight rebounds better than its foes.

Scouting Fairmont State

Fairmont State enters the weekend after hoisting its first Mountain East Conference Tournament title on Sunday afternoon after erasing a halftime deficit for the second time in as many games. Trailing by five at the half, Fairmont State outscored the second-seeded West Virginia State Yellow Jackets 23-8 in the third quarter and 24-20 in the fourth to post an 81-67 victory and walk away with MEC Tournament Title for the first time in program history. Alyssa DeAngelo led all scorers in the victory with 35 points on 8-of-21 shooting while also going an outstanding 16-for-16 at the free-throw line. As a team, Fairmont State shot 41.8 % (23-of-55) from the field after shooting north of 50.0 % in both the third and fourth quarters, including an 8-of-14 performance in the third quarter. The Falcons also connected on 8-of-20 (40.0 %) from three-point range and shot a solid 27-of-33 (81.8 %) from the line. The turnover battle was crucial for Fairmont State in the Championship victory, forcing WVSU into 28 turnovers, including 17 steals in the 14-point victory.

At 26-5 on the year, Fairmont State enters the Tournament as the second seed in the Atlantic Region, averaging 77.3 points per game, the 10^th best in Division II. The Falcons shoot 44.0 % from the field on the year, including a 33.8 % effort from three-point territory, ranking 29^th in DII in field goal percentage and 36^th in three-point shooting percentage. The Falcons limit opponents to an average of 67.9 points per game on 42.6 % shooting from the field and 30.6 % from three-point territory. While Fairmont State trails by a -5.1 rebound per game margin (39.1-34.0) in the rebounding battle, the Falcons do hold a 16.9-23.5 lead in turnovers, thanks in part to a 12.5 steal per game average.

When asked about the matchup against the MEC Champion Fighting Falcons, Wooden said, "Fairmont State is a great, tough, well-coached group. On paper, it looks like it'll be a great matchup, as we look pretty similar in many ways, especially from an offensive standpoint, with four players averaging in double figures. It should be fun to watch, as I think it will be two high-powered offenses going at it throughout the night."

Individually, DeAngelo ranks 11^th in DII in scoring average, averaging nearly 20 (19.7) points per game, while Katy Darnell is close behind, averaging 14.7 and a team-best 7.1 rebounds per game. Jalen Gibbs is third on the team in scoring, averaging 12.6 points per game as the third of four Falcons averaging in double figures on the season. Gibbs also ranks second in rebounding, averaging 6.5 rebounds per game, while the Huffman sisters rank among the team leaders in assists. Madeline Huffman leads the team in assists, averaging 5.1 per game and ranking third in rebounding, averaging 5.1 rebounds per game. Leslie Huffman is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 12.1 points per game, while ranking third in assists (2.1/g) and second in steals (2.7/g), trailing only Darnell, who averages a team-best 2.7 per game.