KUTZTOWN, PA (March 1, 2010) – This could be the start of something big for the Kutztown University women's basketball team. On the surface, it may be just a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference quarterfinal contest against Bloomsburg at Keystone Arena Tuesday night at 7 p.m. However, the home game represents significant progress for the Golden Bears during the last four years.
“It is great to be able to host a playoff game,” Kutztown coach Janet Malouf said. “We want to begin to establish the tradition of being able to compete for league titles and hosting playoff games. This home game represents a step forward for our program. Last year we finished third and had to play at Millersville in the first round.”
The Golden Bears (18-9 overall) will be hosting their first playoff game since they beat Millersville, 48-41, in 1998. This is the second straight season and 16th time in program history that Kutztown has qualified for the PSAC playoffs. Kutztown lost on the road at Millersville last year in the first round of the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Huskies (16-10) are in the PSAC playoffs for the first time since the 2004-05 season.
“Having playoff experience is a good thing,” Malouf said. “But at the same time, I am not sure if it matters in this game. For Bloomsburg, they probably won't be nervous because they beat us twice.”
The last time KU hosted a first round playoff game, Millersville beat Kutztown, 69-50, in the regular season finale. A few days later, Kutztown rebounded by beating the Marauders so hopefully history repeats itself. Another good thing working in Kutztown's favor is seven of its nine losses were on Saturday afternoons. When the sun goes down, Kutztown is 16-2 overall.
Kutztown needs to find a way to solve the Bloomsburg riddle if it wants to advance to the PSAC Final Four for the first time since 2005. The Huskies defeated the Golden Bears, 46-45, on Jan. 30 at Bloomsburg and 72-67, last Saturday at Keystone Arena. Kutztown is 1-3 all-time in playoff matchups against Bloomsburg. This is the first meeting in the playoffs between Kutztown and Bloomsburg since a 53-49 BU win in 2001.
Bloomsburg needed to win its final two games and get some help to earn its playoff spot. The Huskies have been led in scoring by the combination of Dana Wieller and Kelsey Gallagher. Weiler is seventh in the PSAC in scoring (16.3 ppg.), first in 3-pointers made per game (3.1) and fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (42.6). Gallagher was selected as the PSAC East women's basketball player of the week. She is ninth in scoring (15.5) and 10th in free-throw percentage (78.8). Gallagher also burned Kutztown for 27 points in the latest meeting.
“We have to make shots and if we make them, the sky is the limit,” Kutztown senior guard Vivian Melvin said. “We just need to come out aggressively and focused right from the start. In addition, we also have to move the ball around faster.”
Junior Melissa McQuade leads the Golden Bears in scoring (15.3) and rebounding (8.1). McQuade upped her career total to 1,128 points following her 17-point outing against Bloomsburg. McQuade needs seven points to move past Janelle Needham and into seventh place on the Kutztown University all-time scoring chart. Rachel Wisemiller has 984 career points and she is second on the team in scoring (10.3). Wisemiller also leads the Golden Bears in blocked shots (51) and made 3-pointers (54).
Junior guard Meredith Starr has tied her scoring high in consecutive outings with 14 points. Senior center Chauntelle Schroeder is second on the Golden Bears in rebounding (6.8) and third in scoring (9.1). Melvin leads the Golden Bears with 106 assists. In game Saturday, Bloomsburg's defense forced Kutztown to launch 28 3-pointers.
In each game this year, Bloomsburg pulled away to win in the final five minutes. In the first meeting, the Huskies scored the final 13 points. Saturday, the Huskies broke free from a 62-62 tie with 3:34 remaining to score eight straight points to earn a return date to Keystone Arena.
“This is a new season for us and everybody is 0-0,” Malouf said. “We need to concentrate and play as well as we can. We had a decent year considering we upgraded our schedule this year. We won more games last year but finished third in our conference, so I'll take finishing second and hosting a playoff game.
The winner of this game advances to the PSAC semifinals, which will be played on Friday and Saturday at the site of the highest remaining West team.
The other women's first round matchups feature West Chester (18-9, 8-6) at Millersville (23-4, 13-1), Edinboro (16-11, 7-7) at Gannon (30-0, 14-0) and Indiana, Pa. (17-9, 10-4) at California (21-6, 11-3).
NOTES: Ticket prices are $7 for adults and $2 for students. However, students from member institutions will be admitted free with a valid I.D. Fans will have an opportunity to pre-purchase tickets for the women's home game Monday March 1 from 1-4:30 p.m. and Tuesday March 2 from 8 a.m.-noon and 1-4:30 p.m. in Keystone Hall Room 112. There will be no complimentary pass list at the door.
