Box Score

WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Junior guard Imani Brown scored 17 of her career-high 29 points in the third quarter, and East Stroudsburg University solidified its hold on second place in the PSAC East standings with a 74-61 victory at West Chester on Saturday afternoon.

The Warriors (15-7, 11-7 PSAC) are now a full two games ahead of the Golden Rams (9-13, 9-9 PSAC) with four games remaining in the regular season. They led by as many as 23 points early in the fourth quarter while ending a 22-game losing streak in West Chester which dated back to Feb. 22, 1995.

Today's win gives ESU its first six-game winning streak since the 2006-07 season. Brown sank 9 of 19 field goal attempts, including 6 of 11 from 3-point range. Senior forward Allison Howard chipped in 15 points and eight rebounds in a season-high 38 minutes, while sophomore guard Noelle Powell supplied 10 points and freshman guard Jordan Hertz dished out five assists.

ESU's offense, which combined to score 176 points in the team's past two victories, remained hot in the opening quarter. A 3-point play by Howard gave the visitors a 17-7 edge just over five minutes into the contest, and they would up that margin to 22-11 by the end of the frame.

The Golden Rams trailed by 13 points at 29-16 after another layup by Howard with 5:21 remaining in the second, but they closed the half on a 9-1 run to get back within five. The Warriors were held to eight points in the frame, their first single-digit quarter since they totaled nine in the second quarter of their first meeting against West Chester on Jan. 9.

The brief offensive lull did not last long. Brown hit back-to-back 3-pointers out of the intermission to force a quick timeout from the home side, and she would ultimately end the quarter with five made shots from beyond the arc. Another 3-pointer from Brown with 4:08 on the clock capped off a 15-2 run by ESU to begin the frame, a stretch which increased the lead to 45-27.

Brown's final long ball came with 19 seconds left to give the Warriors a 54-35 advantage, and jumpers from senior guard Rachel Falkowski and freshman guard Tiffany Lapotsky to begin the fourth quarter gave the visitors their largest lead of 23 points.

The Golden Rams made things interesting with a 17-5 run which cut the margin to 63-52 and forced an ESU timeout with 4:08 left in regulation. The Warriors responded with six points in their next three possessions (four from Howard, two from Powell), and Brown sank 5 of 6 free throw attempts in the final two minutes to close out the win.

ESU snapped an 11-game overall losing streak to West Chester, with its last victory a 60-58 triumph on Jan. 28, 2012. Five of the six games during its current winning streak have been decided by double digits.

The Warriors will look to up that streak to seven games on Wednesday with a 5:30 p.m. road contest at Kutztown. ESU topped the Golden Bears by a 74-62 final in the first meeting at Koehler Fieldhouse on Jan. 11.

Notes:

ESU had lost 20 of its last 21 and 39 of its last 42 games overall against WCU entering today's contest.

Howard now has 1,208 points in her ESU career, and she moved into sole possession of ninth place all-time in rebounding (644), with her eight-board effort this afternoon.

Brown was one point shy of becoming the first ESU player to score 30 in a game since DeAnna Rayam tallied 32 against Kutztown on Feb. 15, 2010.

The Warriors forced 23 turnovers on Saturday, the eighth time that the opposition has committed 20+ turnovers in a game this season. ESU is 6-2 in those contests.