KUTZTOWN, PA. (February 14, 2010) – One great thing about playing three games in five days is there isn't much time to sulk over a defeat.
The Kutztown University women's basketball team dropped a tough 70-62 decision to No. 25 Millersville University Saturday afternoon. Fortunately for the Golden Bears, they return to action Monday night when they visit East Stroudsburg in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division contest at Koehler Fieldhouse for a 6 p.m. start.
This is the beginning of a tough four-game road trip for the Golden Bears, who will visit West Chester, Shippensburg and Cheyney before returning home to finish the regular season against Bloomsburg.
Kutztown (15-7 overall, 6-3 PSAC East) trails league leader Millersville (18-4, 8-1) by two games with five contests remaining. Although the league title could be difficult to win, Kutztown still owns the inside track on hosting a PSAC East quarterfinal contest on Tuesday March 2. The Golden Bears are in second place in the PSAC East, ahead of a posse of schools (Cheyney, West Chester, Bloomsburg and Shippensburg), all of whom have four league losses.
Four of Kutztown's seven defeats have been against nationally-ranked schools. Now, Kutztown must brace itself to face a team it easily handled, 85-52, on Jan. 13. In that victory, senior center Chauntelle Schroeder (Toronto, Ontario, CANADA/Mother Teresa) scored 17 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Senior forward Vivian Melvin (Chichester, PA/Chichester) deposited 15 points as 10 different Golden Bears scored. Kutztown limited ESU to 26.1 percent shooting in the first game.
Junior forward Melissa McQuade (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler) leads KU in scoring (14.7) and rebounding (9.0). She scored a team-high 18 points in the setback to Millersville. McQuade, the reigning PSAC East player of the week, has led the Golden Bears in scoring in four straight games. Senior guard Rachel Wisemiller (Hazleton, PA/Hazleton Area) has scored 949 career points. This season, Wisemiller is averaging 11.0 points per game.
East Stroudsburg (3-19, 1-8) dropped an 88-68 decision to Shippensburg Saturday afternoon despite senior guard Mel Villano tying her career-highs with 17 points and six assists. Freshman guard Barb Borst and redshirt sophomore Brittany McClain both hit three three-pointers and scored nine points for ESU, which has lost seven consecutive games. All three of the Warriors' victories have been at home.
DeAnna Rayam leads East Stroudsburg in scoring (13.7) and rebounding (6.3). She scored 15 points and pulled nine rebounds against Kutztown in the first meeting at Keystone Arena. Villano is the Warriors' second leading scorer (8.2).
East Stroudsburg visits Mansfield for a 5:30 p.m. clash Wednesday night. Meanwhile, Kutztown travels to Hollinger Field House at West Chester for a 6 p.m. tip, also on Wednesday.
--KU--
