The Shippensburg University women's basketball team led after the first quarter at West Chester, but its strong early effort ultimately fell short as the Raiders succumbed to the Golden Rams, 66-51, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division matchup Saturday at Hollinger Field House.
Shippensburg (1-12, 0-6 PSAC) led West Chester (8-5, 4-3) 15-13 after 10 minutes, just SU's second lead after the first quarter this season (SU led Chestnut Hill 19-17 in a loss Dec. 1).
Michelle Olak notched her third career double-double for the Raiders, finishing with a game-high 21 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Olak shot 10-of-15 from the field (66 percent) and 11 of her caroms came on the offensive glass.
The Raiders shot an efficient 7-for-14 from the field (50 percent) in the opening frame and led by as many as four points, 19-15, following a long jumper from
McKenzie Thomas with 8:47 remaining in the second quarter.
A cold spell soon after resulted in a decisive 15-0 West Chester run just before halftime, giving the hosts a 33-25 edge at the break.
Olak converted back-to-back buckets early in the third to trim the margin to just four, 33-29, and the visitors kept it close until two made threes in the final 12 seconds of the frame from West Chester's Kimi Sayson stretched the lead to twelve, 47-35.
Sayson finished with a career-high 13 points to pace the Golden Rams. Bella Mazur added 11 points and four assists. West Chester was aided by a 23-to-9 advantage in points off turnovers.
Abbie Johns (10 points) also finished in double figures for Shippensburg. Thomas poured in eight, while
Melana Eyer added seven points and five assists.
SU out-rebounded the Golden Rams in the contest 42-to-32.
The Raiders return to Heiges Field House next week to host Millersville Tuesday at 6 p.m.
