KUTZTOWN, PA (February 9, 2010) – The second half of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division women's basketball schedule begins for the Kutztown University women's basketball team when Mansfield University invades Keystone Arena Thursday night for a 6 p.m. showdown.
Kutztown (14-6 overall, 5-2 PSAC East) is in sole possession of second place after Bloomsburg dropped a 71-61 decision to Cheyney Monday night. The Golden Bears trail league-leader Millersville by a game. The Marauders visit Keystone Arena Saturday afternoon.
However, first things first for the Golden Bears.
Kutztown is looking to keep the momentum generated from its thrilling, 63-61, come-from-behind victory over Cheyney going as it prepares for its second meeting of the season against Mansfield (4-17, 1-7). This will be KU's first game in a week after its scheduled game against East Stroudsburg on Saturday was postponed until Monday night.
The Golden Bears needed double overtime to finally subdue the Mountaineers, 86-73, on Jan. 20. In that game, Kutztown scored the first 15 points of the second overtime.
Mansfield's only conference victory was a 47-44 decision over East Stroudsburg. The Mountaineers feature one of the quickest guards in the PSAC in junior Nicole Pender. She scored 17 points in the first meeting between the two teams. Pender sent the game into overtime when she raced the length of the floor to tie the game as the buzzer sounded. Tegan Atallah scored 18 points to lead Mansfield, which made nine 3-pointers in the first meeting between the two teams.
Overall, Mallory Moore leads Mansfield in scoring (12.3) and rebounding (8.7). Mallory Hafer chips in 11.1 points per outing for the Mountaineers. Pender, who scored 18 points in Mansfield's last game against Shippensburg, averages 9.5 points and leads the team with 78 assists.
The Golden Bears are ranked 10th in the latest NCAA Division II Atlantic Region poll. Junior forward Melissa McQuade has fueled a balanced offensive attack for Kutztown. She was named the PSAC East player of the week. McQuade became the 12th KU women's basketball player in school history to score 1,000 points when she accomplished the milestone during a season-high 25 point performance against Cheyney.
McQuade scored 23 points and collected 14 rebounds against Mansfield three weeks ago. She leads the Golden Bears in scoring (14.7) and rebounding (8.1). Senior Rachel Wisemiller is one of the most versatile players in the conference, leading the Golden Bears in 3-pointers made (46) and blocked shots (35). Wisemiller also averages 11.7 points per game for Kutztown.
Junior guard Meredith Starr made two foul shots with 21 seconds remaining, which proved to be the winning margin against Cheyney. Starr and McQuade combined to score KU's last 18 points against the Lady Wolves. Starr and senior Vivian Melvin have combined to hand out 150 assists. The Golden Bears are the only team in the PSAC East with a pair of teammates that have handed out at least 70 assists.
Kutztown's defense has fueled its rise to the top of the conference. The Golden Bears are second in the PSAC in field goal percentage defense (35.8). In addition, Kutztown and Gannon are the only two schools in the PSAC that rank in the top five in scoring offense and scoring defense. The Golden Bears are fourth in scoring offense (70.3) and fifth in scoring defense (62.0). Mansfield is the only school to score over 70 points against the Golden Bears in conference play.
--KU--
