Both players turned in career-high scoring performances to help Kutztown (2-1 overall) win its second straight contest. Meanwhile, Goldey-Beacom, which was picked to finish second in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, dropped to 0-3 overall.
Wood scored 24 points and Zewe added 20 for Kutztown. This performance was special because of the close friendship that the pair of affable sophomores forged while adjusting to Kutztown last season. They have shared numerous phone conversations, outings, and growing pains together during their time in the maroon-and-gold.
“It feels really good to have a game like this because we stuck it out as freshman,” Zewe said. “We always told each other that we had each other's back. There were times last year when I got frustrated at myself because I wasn't playing well.”
Zewe, who was highly touted coming out of Indian Valley High School, displayed her determination to get better by playing in a summer league in Harrisburg with
Kristen Murray (Harrisburg, PA/Trinity) and Brittany Le Van. She also spent plenty of time running and getting in shape. The hard work paid off because Zewe is off to a solid start this season, having scored in double figures in two of KU's first three games.
The performances of Wood and Zewe enabled Kutztown's senior triumvirate to focus on other areas like rebounding, blocking shots and recording assists.
Senior
Kristen Murray (Harrisburg, PA/Trinity) added 13 points, eight rebounds, and three blocked shots. Senior
Meredith Starr (Richmond, VA/Monacan) added six assists for the Golden Bears. Senior
Melissa McQuade (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler) contributed nine points and a season-high 11 rebounds. She raised her career point total to 1,205 points. In addition, McQuade moved past Rebecca Blose and into fourth-place on the all-time rebounding list with 746.
“I thought the play of our sophomores were huge for us tonight,” Kutztown University head women's basketball coach
Janet Malouf said. “With everyone keying on our three seniors, we needed people to step up and those two played very well. Ashley took her time and took good shots after struggling the first two games. Steph did a great job in the post giving us a presence in the paint and being versatile enough to step out and make some shots outside the key.”
The return of Wood's shooting touch also played a huge factor for the Golden Bears. After struggling to make shots consistently in KU's first two games, Wood had no issues finding the range against the Lightning. She was an equal opportunity scorer as she tallied 12 points in each half. Wood was 8-for-13 from the field, 4-for-5 from 3-point distance and 4-for-4 from the foul line. She also handed out three assists in 37 entertaining minutes.
“It was such a relief to see some of my shots go down,” Wood said. “I've been waiting for a shooting effort like this. I was getting down on myself on my shooting. After my first shot went down, I was like OK; this could be a good night for me. Then, when I made my second shot, I had a feeling that I was going to have a good night shooting the ball.”
Wood's accuracy also rubbed off on her partner-in-crime, Zewe, who had plenty of fun by sinking 7-of-10 shots from the floor and 6-for-7 from the free-throw line. She also grabbed three rebounds.
Even though Kutztown never trailed in the second half, the Lightning was never out of the contest thanks to the splendid performance of Jacinda Jones, who led GBC with 21 points.
Goldey-Beacom closed to within four points on three occasions in the second half. The final time was at 66-62 with 6 minutes, 8 seconds remaining in the game following a pair of Jones foul shots.
That's when Zewe came through for Kutztown by scoring four straight points on a layup and a pair of foul shots. Zewe's layup trigged a game-clinching 10-2 burst that helped KU open its largest advantage of the contest, 76-64 with 46 seconds remaining.
It was Wood's energy that set the tone for the Golden Bears and gave them the space they needed to keep Goldey-Beacom at a safe distance. Wood crammed nine of her points along with an assist during an 18-9 surge that gave the Golden Bears a 29-20 advantage with 6:22 remaining in the first half. Her layup gave KU the lead for good, 13-11 with 13:56 remaining.
Zewe got Kutztown going right away by scoring the Golden Bears' first five points of the contest. Despite Zewe's quick start, the Lightning opened an 11-8 lead after Janae Weldon's 3-pointer with 15:59 remaining in the first half.
“This was really good for us since we're both sophomore starters,” Wood said. “We know that there is a lot of pressure on us because we're young and that we have to prove to everyone that we can handle the pressure. It does feels good that we both went off like that tonight. Steph and I both know we have the skills to play at this level. The seniors always do a good job of boosting our confidence.”
Kutztown will enjoy its Thanksgiving break and return to action Saturday night against Georgian Court starting at 6 p.m.
The game time was changed from an afternoon contest because the KU football team is hosting its first NCAA playoff game in school history against Shepherd starting at noon.
--KU--
