KUTZTOWN, Pa. (January 11, 2011)—The Kutztown University women's basketball team opens its conference schedule when it travels to Shippensburg University in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern division contest, Wednesday at Herges Field House beginning at 6 p.m. CLICK HERE FOR LIVE STATS

The Golden Bears (7-5 overall) finished this year's PSAC crossover games by going 2-2 with both of its wins coming at home against Mercyhurst and Slippery Rock. KU wasn't as fortunate on the road and had setbacks to California (Pa.) and Indiana (Pa.) last weekend.

Last season the Golden Bears and Red Raiders split a pair of games. Both teams utilized home court advantage and picked up victories on in their gyms. Kutztown's all-time record against Shippensburg is 15-31.

Senior Melissa McQuade (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler) helped lead her team to a 2-2 week during last week's action. She has 1,353 points and 817 rebounds for her career. McQuade needs 16 points to move past Cyndi Wasilius and into third place on the KU all-time scoring list. With 15 rebounds, she will move past Missy Boettger and into second place on the KU all-time rebounding list. Overall, McQuade is 25 rebounds away from becoming the all-time leader in that category in Kutztown history.

Senior Meredith Starr (Richmond, VA/Monacan) moved into fourth place on the KU all-time assist list over the weekend. Starr has 341 career assists and she has made 91 career 3-pointers.
Sophomore Steph Zewe (Lewistown, PA/Indian Valley) pulled down a career best 13 rebounds against IUP and freshman Andrea Sisson (Richmond, VA/Godwin) leads Kutztown with 27 3-pointers.

Senior Kristen Murray (Harrisburg, PA/Trinity) is 50-for-52 (96.2 percent) in her KU career from the foul line. Murray has scored in double figures in four of Kutztown's last five games. Murray is third on the team in scoring (9.7 points per game) and is more than ready to open the PSAC schedule.

“This game is very important because it sets the tone for how we will play in the conference,” Murray said. “We've been shooting better on the road. It'll be a challenge but I think we'll be fine.”

Shippensburg (5-7 overall) enters the conference opener with plenty of energy after winning a pair of home PSAC crossover contests this past weekend SU withstood a second-half rally to beat Clarion 78-69 before recording an 83-62 victory over Gannon, which was ranked 22nd in the Women's Basketball Coaches' Association (WVCA) top 25 at the time. Kristy Trn picked up her 200th head coaching victory at her alma mater.

Kasey Gardner who was recently named PSAC East Player of the Week, is second in the conference in scoring (18.8). Gardner averaged 17.5 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals to help Shippensburg over the weekend. She made 6-of-13 three-pointers (46.2 percent) and 7-of-9 free throws (77.8 percent).

Shippensburg was perfect from the free-throw line against Gannon, finishing the game 22-of-22 from the charity stripe. It had been at least 13 seasons since SU did not miss a free throw in a contest. SU posted a season-high 20 assists on Sunday. The Lady Raiders hit at least 10 three-pointers in both games last weekend.

Freshman Sarah Strybuc earned PSAC East Freshman of the Week with a career-high 19 points on Sunday, shooting 5-of-7 from three-point range. She averaged 15 points in two Shippensburg wins. Sophomore Dana Wert had a career-high nine assists on Sunday. Junior Lindsay Howard scored a career-high 13 points on Saturday.

The vital conference opener will be a sight to see as KU's defense and countless efforts to contend with any opponent takes on Shippensburg's momentum of its two game winning streak.