MILLERSVILLE – Ryan Weise picked up right where she left off as the graduate student stuffed the stat sheet with 31 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, five steals and two blocks to lead the East Stroudsburg University women's basketball team to a 67-59 season-opening victory over Virginia Union on Saturday in the CIAA/PSAC Challenge at Pucillo Gymnasium.
The Warriors open the year 1-0 for the first since 2019-20 while the Panthers drop to 0-1.
Playing in all 40 minutes, Weise was an efficient 9-of-10 from the field which included knocking down 4-of-5 from behind the arc as well as 9-of-12 from the free throw line. Today also marked the third 30-point game for the Allentown, N.J. native in her ESU career.
Notables
- Transfers Cassidy Saylor and Shyla Sanford made an immediate impact as Saylor finished 14 points (6-of-10), two rebounds and two assists while Sanford added seven points and four boards
- Sophomore Katie Geisler contributed five points and three rebounds while junior Carley Adams and sophomore Jessica Polin each had four points
- Sophomore Izzy Vogel did a little bit of everything for the Warriors with two points, six rebounds, five assists, one block and steal a piece
- The Warriors were shot an efficient 25-of-52 (48.1%) from the field and 4-of-9 (44.4%) from behind the arc, while the Panthers were just 18-of-64 (28.1%) from the floor and 4-of-18 (22.2%) from three-point territory
- Virginia Union was knock down from free-throw line, going 19-of-22 (86.4%), compared to ESU, who was 13-of-24 (54.2%)
- The Panthers crashed the glass, out rebounding the Warriors by a significant margin of 46-31
- Virginia Union was led by Ny Langley with 22 points and 22 rebounds while Darryn Zeigler recorded 20 points and six boards
How It Happened
- Neither team shot the ball well to open the game, combining to go 3-for-17 with the score tied at 4-4 headed into the media timeout. Over the final 4:44, ESU proceeded to go on an 12-4 run which included a pair of buckets from Adams and six points from Weise to pull ahead 16-8 at the end of the first quarter.
- The Panthers scored the first five points of the second quarter, trimming their deficit to 16-13, but the Warriors answered with layups from Vogel and Saylor to push their lead back to 20-13. During the final five minutes of the first half, the ESU outscored Virginia Union by three points as the Warriors went 5-of-6 from the field to take a 32-24 lead at the break.
- Following a three-pointer from Weise to begin the second half, Virginia Union went on an 11-2 run to pull within two points at 37-35. However, the Warriors responded with seven quick points to go back up by nine, 44-35. The teams slowed down offensively over the final four-plus minutes of the third quarter as the Panthers outscored ESU, 4-3, giving the Warriors a 47-39 lead going into the fourth.
- It was back and forth over the final 10 minutes as the Panthers were able to trim their deficit to as little as six (49-43), until the Warriors responded with a layup from Sanford and a three-pointer from Weise to go back up 11 points at 54-43. With 5:44 remaining, ESU took their largest lead of the game at 13 points and maintained at least a seven-point edge over Virginia Union the rest of the way to secure the 67-59 victory.
Up Next
The Warriors wrap up the CIAA/PSAC Challenge tomorrow with a noon tip-off against Shaw
