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West Chester Women's Hoops Makes Second Straight NCAA Trip

PHILADEPHIA (CBS) -- With a 21-7 record, the West Chester University women's basketball team is headed to the Division II NCAA Tournament.

The Golden Rams will take on Wheeling Jesuit University in the first round on Friday night down in Richmond, Virginia.

West Chester is the #5 seed in the Atlantic region, a position that was a bit of a pleasant surprise to head coach Kiera Wooden.

"I thought that after we lost in the (PSAC) semifinal game (77-64 to IUP) that we might drop a little lower than the fifth seed," Wooden tells KYW Newsradio. "We were thinking possibly seventh seed and considering that match-up. But we were excited to be the fifth seed, I'm glad that we didn't drop too far. It's a different opponent than we've played which, in my opinion, is good. I would rather be playing somebody else rather than a PSAC team for the second or third time."

Listen to the entire interview with West Chester's Kiera Wooden:

 

Wheeling Jesuit is the #4 seed in the region and the champs of the Mountain East Conference. They bring a 26-5 record into the tournament.

"Their strengths are the fact that they have both an inside and outside presence," Wooden says. "So they have big girls that can rebound and finish around the paint. They also have three-point shooters and a solid point guard that can do a little bit of both."

West Chester has a lot of talented players and it is a group that has been through a lot of battles together.

"We have a senior laden team," Wooden says. "We're led by a group of seven seniors that have decided to take this team on their back. Most notably, two All-Americans that we have in (guards) Brittany Sicinski and Dallas Ely, who are playing very well right now. Both surpassed the (career) 1500 point mark and are respectively one and two in the all-time leading scorers in West Chester University women's basketball history. So they're leading the way right now."

This is the second straight year West Chester has earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament field. Last year, they lost in the first round to West Liberty University, 88-85.

West Chester and Wheeling Jesuit get underway at 7:30pm on Friday.

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