LAKEWOOD, N.J. (November 28, 2009) – The Kutztown University women's basketball team began its busy stretch of games by defeating Georgian Court University, 66-62 at the Wellness Center Saturday afternoon. (BOXSCORE)
The first women's basketball meeting between the two schools turned into a too-close-for-comfort pulse pounder as Kutztown fended off a spirited Georgian Court rally. For Kutztown, this was the start of three games in five days.
Trailing by 17 points early in the second half, the host Lions began terrorizing the Golden Bears from 3-point distance. Using some remarkable accuracy from beyond the arc, the Lions closed to within, 63-62 following Lauren Statts' 3-pointer with 19 seconds remaining.
Kutztown (2-1 overall) placed three players in double figures highlighted by junior forward Melissa McQuade (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler) (Pittsburgh/Shaler), who scored a game-high 16 points and pulled down a game-high 17 rebounds, two shy of her career high. Senior forward Rachel Wisemiller (Hazleton, PA/Hazleton Area) (Hazleton/Hazleton) finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. Junior guard Kristen Murray (Harrisburg, PA/Trinity) (Harrisburg/Trinity) scored 10 points. Senior forward Vivian Melvin (Chichester, PA/Chichester) (Chichester/Chichester) added nine points and senior center Chauntelle Schroeder (Toronto, Ontario, CANADA/Mother Teresa) (Toronto, Ontario, Canada/Mother Teresa) supplied eight points.
Georgian Court (1-4) saw Statts and Shawna Wert finish with 14 points each. Christina White and Dee Varley each scored 10 points for GCU.
However, no matter how many times Wisemiller, McQuade, Melvin or Schroeder answered with a huge basket in the final five minutes of the game, Georgian Court continued nipping at Kutztown's heels like playful puppies. Each time the Lions got close, the Golden Bears were up to the challenge.
Causing Kutztown Freddy Krueger-like nightmares during the second half was the 3-point shooting of Statts and Wert, who combined to make seven 3-pointers after intermission.
When McQuade scored a layup to put Kutztown ahead, 42-25, with 17:37 remaining, it appeared as if the Golden Bears would cruise to victory. The Lions, behind Statts and Wert went on a 17-3 run over the next six minutes to make things interesting. Although, Georgian Court closed to within two points on three occasions, Kutztown never relinquished its advantage.
After a rough beginning in which it trailed by a single point on three different occasions, Kutztown turned up the defense, created some turnovers and finally made a few baskets to lead 34-23 at intermission. Amazingly, neither team called a timeout during the entire first half.
Trailing, 9-8, six minutes into the game, Kutztown held Georgian Court scoreless during a 7:28 stretch of the first half. During that time, the Golden Bears scored 11 straight points to grab a 19-9 lead and control of the contest. Georgian Court missed nine straight shots and committed three turnovers during its scoring drought. The Lions never got within eight points the remainder of the first half. The host Lions made just 24.1 percent of their shots (7-for-24) and turned the ball over 10 times in the first half.
Pacing Kutztown in the first half was Murray, who scored eight points in 13 minutes. Wisemiller added seven points and McQuade snatched seven rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.
Kutztown returns to action Monday night when it hosts Chestnut Hill College beginning at 6 p.m.
NOTES: This was the third consecutive team from the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Kutztown has played to begin its season. …Kutztown is 2-0 on the road this season. …The Golden Bears begin a four-game home stand starting Monday when they host Chestnut Hill College, California, Pa. (Wednesday at 6 p.m.), University of the Sciences (Saturday at 1 p.m.) and Washington Adventist University (December 9 at 6 p.m.).
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