LET'S DANCE! Women's Basketball Returns to NCAA Tournament as Seventh Seed in Atlantic Regional
INDIANAPOLIS- The West Chester University women's basketball team (24-6) got the news it had been waiting for on Sunday night, as head coach Kiera Wooden and the Golden Rams found out they secured a spot in the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament when play begins next weekend, as announced during Sunday night's selection show on NCAA.com. West Chester enters the NCAA Tournament as the seventh seed in the Atlantic Regional Tournament, looking to duplicate last year's run to the Atlantic Region Championship game.
Making its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, West Chester will kick off its NCAA Tournament campaign on Friday evening against one of the two host Institutions in Mountain East Champion Fairmont State.
The 2024 Atlantic Regional Tournament will be a different look this year as Gannon earned the top-seed and hosting rights for both the Division II Men's and Women's Basketball Atlantic Regional Tournaments, which leads to the first two rounds of the Tournament being split between two sites.
West Chester returns to the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row, marking the first time that West Chester has made back-to-back appearances since the 2015 and 2016 seasons. This was the first time in program history that West Chester made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.
West Chester enters the Tournament after seeing its 16-game winning streak, which was the sixth-longest active streak in Division II women's basketball, halted by eventual PSAC Champion and the top seed in the Atlantic Region Tournament in Gannon (32-2) at Lock Haven on Saturday evening.
A year ago, West Chester entered the NCAA Tournament as the third seed, which was the Golden Rams highest seed in team history in the 64-team field era. With this seed, West Chester knocked off both California (Pa.) in the Round of 64 for its first NCAA Tournament win since 2002-03 and eventually made it first Atlantic Regional Final appearance in team history after dispatching Charleston in the Round of 32.
West Chester is one of five PSAC teams to earn a spot in the field as the Golden Rams join top-seed Gannon, Lock Haven (4), Cal (5), and Indiana (Pa.) (IUP) (6) in the eight-team regional.
Latest Women's Basketball
- Johnson Named PhillySIDA Academic All-AreaPHILADELPHIA- The Philadelphia Sports Information Directors Association (PhillySIDA) released its women's basketball Academic All-Area team on Tuesday morning, and Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) was honored as one of five players on the Academic All-Area squad.
- Johnson and McAteer Earn Collegiate Sports Communicators Academic All-District HonorsWEST CHESTER, Pa.- The Collegiate Sports Communicators (CSC) released its Women's Basketball Academic All-District squad this afternoon, and the West Chester University women's basketball team had a pair of players honored as Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) and Emily McAteer (Thornton, Pa./Garnet Valley) each earned All-District honors.
- Johnson Repeats as WBCA Honorable Mention All-AmericanATLANTA- Graduate student guard, Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) added another honor to her growing trophy case on Thursday morning, being named a Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II Honorable Mention All-American as announced by the organization.
- Women's Basketball Upset Bid Falls Short as Seventh-Seeded Golden Rams Fall to Second Seed Fairmont State; 72-68FAIRMONT, W.V.- Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) turned in yet another outstanding performance, finishing with 24 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. However, it was not enough to guide the seventh-seeded West Chester University women's basketball team (24-7) to an NCAA Tournament upset over No. 2 seed and host Fairmont State (27-5), as the Fighting Falcons escaped with a 72-68 victory.
- Women's Basketball Readies for NCAA Tournament Opener vs No. 2 Seed Fairmont State on Friday NightFAIRMONT, 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.
- Johnson and McAteer Earn D2CCA All-Atlantic Region HonorsSHIPPENSBURG, Pa.- The Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) released its Women's Basketball All-Atlantic Region squad on Thursday morning, and West Chester had a pair of student-athletes recognized. Leah Johnson (Columbus, N.J./Notre Dame) earned First Team honors, while Emily McAteer (Thornton, Pa./Garnet Valley) was named to the Second Team.
