Lock Haven Women’s Clinch Third Straight PSAC East Title with win over East Stroudsburg.
LOCK HAVEN — The chance to make history does not come around often, but for the Haven, it seems records are being broken at every turn. This season alone, Lock Haven has multiple record-breaking seasons from their litany of star talent, and had the opportunity on Wednesday, Feb. 18th, to clinch the No. 1 seed in the PSAC East for a third consecutive season. The team standing in their way was the East Stroudsburg Warriors, who sat in third place in the East, and a win would keep their hopes of capturing the top spot in play.
After a hard-fought 40 minutes that saw a pair of stars take the spotlight, it was the Haven (19-5) who would come out on top, beating the Warriors 70-59.
Leading the way for the Bald Eagles was standout forward Rhylin Rouse. Rouse scored a career high 26 points on an efficient 10-15 from the field in the win, dominating down low and causing headaches for the ESU defense.
“She really stepped up today.” Lock Haven head coach Jennifer Smith said after the game when talking about Rouse’s performance. “She was ready to go. We have so many great players that take turns shining, and today was definitely her time to shine.”
Alongside Rouse, it was Jenadia Jordan bearing much more of the offensive load than she has this season, as the PSAC leader in assists, turning back into the slashing guard she was as an underclassman, and providing the Haven with 16 points.
Meanwhile, for East Stroudsburg star Sophomore Brie Droege absolutely stole the show, scoring a game high 29 points on 12-16 from the field. Droege felt unstoppable at times, as no matter what defender or scheme the Haven threw at her, the baskets just kept on piling up.
The first half was a very tight affair, with both sides trading basket for basket as both sets of defenses scrambled to try and solve the other side.
On the Bald Eagles’ side, their pairing of Rouse and Madeline Evans down low proved forceful, bending the ESU defense to their will and converting tough bucket after tough bucket. Pair that with a more aggressive game from Jordan, and timely baskets from Alana Robinson, and it was business as usual from the fourth-best offense in the PSAC.
On the Warriors’ side of things, their high-paced, screen-heavy offense began to overwhelm the Haven defensive scheme as the game wore on, as Droege made great off-ball cuts and movement to constantly find open space as she began to pick the Bald Eagles apart.
At the end of the first half, Lock Haven held on to a 33-24 lead, and despite a furious ESU comeback attempt in the third, the star power of the Bald Eagles proved too much. Outscoring the Warriors by nine in the fourth quarter to seal their win and their place atop the East.
“It was the goal this season to go back, to back, to back.” Coach Smith said after the win. “It isn’t easy to do, but it was really important to us, especially with this being our last year in the East.”
Notably, due to the rules of the PSAC tournament, this year, the highest seed on the eastern side of the conference will host the final four of the tournament. So that means if Lock Haven wins their upcoming quarterfinals matchup in a few weeks, all roads will lead back to the Thomas Fieldhouse.
Though before any of that can be decided, the Haven still has three regular-season games remaining on their schedule. And off the heels of a now 13-game win streak, the Bald Eagles will hope to keep building their momentum going into the PSAC playoffs. Lock Haven will next travel to West Chester to take on the Golden Rams on Saturday, Feb. 21st.
Ryan States is in his 3rd year at Lock Haven University, and his second with the Eagle Eye. He is a Journalism major with intentions to minor in Sports Management. With his never-ending passion for all things sports, he wishes to pursue a career as a sports writer for a major outlet. When not watching sports, he can be found playing video games, hanging out with friends at the REC. Or you can find him helping out in the booth during LHU sporting events. His biggest hope while at Lock Haven is to be able to positively contribute to LHU sports in any way he can.
