KUTZTOWN, Pa. — Rachel Wisemiller (Hazleton, PA/Hazleton Area) (jr. Hazleton/Hazleton) scored 19 points, including five first-half 3-pointers, to lift the Kutztown University women's basketball team over West Chester 63-60 Wednesday at Keystone Hall.
The Golden Bears opened the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East contest hitting nine 3-pointers in the first half en route to an 17-point lead.
Wisemiller's five 3s give her 68 on the season, a new KU single-season record. She has 99 for her career, fourth in KU history.
The cushion provided by the 3s was erased as West Chester (16-8, 8-3 PSAC East) cut it to 11 with the old-fashioned 3-point play at the halftime buzzer and tied it at 51 with 5:00 left.
West Chester never took the lead in the final five minutes, but the Golden Rams continued to battle back and tie the game.
KU (17-7, 7-4 PSAC East) took the lead for good when Chauntelle Schroeder (Toronto, Ontario, CANADA/Mother Teresa) (jr. Toronto, Ont./Mother Theresa) hit a mid-range jumper with 55 seconds left gave KU a 60-58 lead. Wisemiller hit two free throws 11 seconds later to make it a four-point game.
Wisemiller missed the frontend of a one-and-one attempt, but West Chester's Janelle Garber missed a layup, setting up Vivian Melvin (Chichester, PA/Chichester) (jr. Chichester/Chichester) with two free throws with 12 seconds left.
Melvin made one of two to make it 63-60 and a 3-pointer by Dana Weems banked off the rim as the buzzer sounded.
Melvin and Schroeder finished with nine points apiece, and Schroeder had nine rebounds.
Melissa McQuade (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler) (so. Pittsburgh/Shaler) also had nine rebounds to go with her eight points.
KU will host Shippensburg at 1 p.m. Saturday in a PSAC East contest at Keystone Hall.