KUTZTOWN, PA (February 23, 2010) – The long and winding road for the Kutztown University women's basketball team mercifully reaches its final destination Wednesday night against Cheyney University at Cope Hall beginning at 6 p.m. in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division game.

Unlike the former R&B group Boyz II Men, the Golden Bears (17-8 overall, 8-4 PSAC East) will not be singing sad songs about reaching the “End of the Road.”  Whenever the final buzzer sounds against Cheyney (9-16, 6-6) and when players board the Bieber charter bus for the trip home, they will be relieved that this arduous four-game road trip is history.

Kutztown is currently 2-1 on this season-ending excursion through East Stroudsburg, West Chester and Shippensburg.

“It's been tough playing on the road and we knew this stretch was going to test us,” Kutztown senior center Chauntelle Schroeder said.  “On the road, the crowd is against us and you don't have the familiarity with the baskets. It's definitely been a challenging because every team in this conference plays better at home. We still have control of our goals and that's what we're focused on.”

Kutztown's playoff scenario is simple: a victory Wednesday night against Cheyney clinches a playoff spot for the second consecutive season. Two wins by the Golden Bears and they will open the playoffs at home on March 2. Meanwhile, Cheyney can potentially sneak into the playoffs with a sweep of both KU and Shippensburg this week and some help.

Kutztown has lost in its last two visits to Cope Hall, a place where the noise level reaches deafening proportions and music is pumped so loud by an on-site disc-jockey that the atmosphere sometimes resembles a nightclub.

Cheyney has a deceptive 6-6 record in the conference. Three of its defeats, including a 65-63 setback to Kutztown on Feb. 3 in which it led by 16 points, were by three points or less. Cheyney is 3-2 at home against PSAC East schools. The Wolves are also the only conference team to beat Millersville this season.

The Golden Bears will look to bounce back from an 87-75 loss to Shippensburg Saturday afternoon. They were burned by the PSAC's highest scoring duo in Lauren Beckley (38 points) and Kasey Gardner (29 points). Melissa McQuade (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler) scored 22 points to lead the Golden Bears. Rachel Wisemiller and Ashley Wood added 11 points each.

McQuade has enjoyed the sight of Cheyney's blue-and-white uniforms in recent meetings. She has averaged 23 points in the last three games against the Lady Wolves. McQuade has posted double-doubles against Cheyney in her last two meetings against Cheyeny. Overall, McQuade, who is ninth on the Kutztown all-time scoring list with 1,091 points, leads the Golden Bears in scoring (15.1) and rebounding (8.2).

Wisemiller, who has 972 career points, is KU's second leading scorer (10.1). Vivian Melvin leads the Golden Bears with 95 assists. Schroeder is going to be counted on contend with Cheyney's athletic jumping jacks Angel Stephens and Stephanie Orji, who are third and fourth, respectively, in rebounding in the PSAC.

Cheyney snapped a two-game skid by beating East Stroudsburg, 73-61, Saturday afternoon. Stephens tallied 18 points and 14 rebounds for her eleventh double-double of the season.  Lutfiyya Muhammad scored 19 and Angel Henderson tallied 10 points.

Muhammad is the conference's 10th leading scorer (14.7). Other double digit scorers for Cheyney include Stephens (14.6) and Orji (11.9).

In the first meeting, Cheyney's big three combined for 39 points, 23 rebounds, and four blocked shots. McQuade and Meredith Starr teamed up to score KU's final 18 points of the game. Starr made a pair of foul shots with 21 seconds remaining that supplied winning margin. Starr scored 13 points in the first meeting against Cheyney. The 16-point rally was Kutztown's largest of the season.

“Our defense is going to be the key to us coming away with a victory,” Schroeder said. “We know they like to drive and we have to keep them out of the paint. Plus we have to hold our own on the boards because Cheyney is a good rebounding team and we have to keep our turnovers down. It will be nice not to get on a bus and travel for a while.”

If Kutztown takes care of business this week, the next time it would board a bus will be on Thursday March 4 when it heads across the state to compete in the PSAC Final Four, which is in the West this year.

--KU--