EAST STROUDSBURG – The East Stroudsburg University women's basketball team grinded out a 51-43 victory over West Chester on Senior Day at Koehler Fieldhouse to secure the No. 2 seed in the PSAC East and First Round bye in the conference tournament.

Jordan Hertz registered 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists, and Julia Kutz added a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds as the pair led the way for the Warriors.

With the win, ESU sits at 19-9 overall and 15-7 in PSAC play entering the conference tournament. The Warriors will be the No. 2 seed in the East Division and have a bye in the opening round on the tournament. They will host a PSAC Quarterfinal matchup on March 4 at Koehler Fieldhouse against the winner of Kutztown and Bloomsburg.

East Stroudsburg honored Hertz and Tiffany Lapotsky with a ceremony prior to Saturday's game as part of Senior Day. Hertz ranks second all-time in program history with 535 career assists, and Lapotsky moved into sixth place on ESU's all-time scoring list during Saturday's contest, as she now has 1443 points in her career.

The Warriors led by as many as nine points in the opening quarter of play, as a three-pointer from Hertz with 1:04 on the clock pushed the advantage to 16-7. West Chester was able to get the final two buckets of the period to close the gap to five heading into the second.

The Golden Rams scored eight of the opening 10 points to start the second quarter, as they grabbed their first advantage of the game, 19-18, at the 3:46 mark. ESU quickly took back the lead on the next possession on a layup from Kaitlyn Swint, and the Warriors were able to increase the advantage to four, 28-24, at the break.

A low-scoring third quarter that saw a combined 20 points between the two teams gave the Warriors a 37-35 advantage heading into the final period.ESU quickly padded the lead to six in the early minutes of the fourth, but West Chester was able to chip away and eventually got within a pair, 43-41, with 1:24 remaining after a pair of free throws from Justyn Roberts.

Lapotsky got to the line on each of ESU's next two possessions and converted all four free throws to give the Warriors a 47-43 lead with 39 ticks left.

Leah Johnson misfired for WCU on the ensuing possession, but Roberts was fouled on the rebound attempt and went to the line for a pair. Roberts came up empty on both free throw attempts and Hertz came down with a clutch board for ESU before dishing to Abby Schoffstall. Schoffstall was sent to the line where she converted 1-of-2 to make it a 48-43 game with 18 seconds left.

After a timeout, the Warriors forced a missed three-pointer by Alexis Anderson and Kutz grabbed the defensive board for ESU. She was fouled and made both of her attempts to help seal the victory for the Warriors.

Both teams struggled from the field in the contest, as ESU shot 28.1-percent overall and made just 3-of-17 (.176) from deep, while WCU posted a 27.6-percent mark from the floor and hit 3-of-15 (.200) from long range.

The Warriors will learn their opponent for the PSAC Quarterfinal round following the conclusion of the opening round matchup between Kutztown and Bloomsburg on March 2. The Quarterfinal matchup will take place on March 4 at 5:30 p.m. from Koehler Fieldhouse. It will be ESU's first home playoff game since a 2018 PSAC Quarterfinal matchup against Millersville.