KUTZTOWN, Pa. (January 15, 2011) – Melissa McQuade (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler) moved closer to becoming Kutztown University's all-time leading rebounder during a tough, 87-84, setback to Bloomsburg University in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division contest Saturday afternoon at Keystone Arena.  (BOXSCORE)

 

McQuade, who tied her career high by scoring 30 points, pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds to pull within one of Mercedes Van Wagner's all time mark in that  category. McQuade has 840 career rebounds. Van Wagner ended her sterling career with 841 boards. McQuade grabbed her final rebound of the afternoon with three seconds remaining during a scramble under the basket and the Golden Bears trailing 85-84.

 

The Golden Bears (8-6 overall, 1-1 PSAC East) nearly overcame a 20-point second half deficit and a scorching hot Bloomsburg shooting effort.  Despite the close defeat, Kutztown showed plenty of heart, character and fight during its second half performance.

 

McQuade did everything she could to reverse the outcome. In addition to playing all 40 minutes, she scored 18 points in the second half as the Golden Bears got back into the game. She upped her career point total to 1,397 with her performance. McQuade is three points away from becoming the third player in Kutztown University women's basketball history to score 1,400 points. She needs eight points to move past Robin Avery and into second place on the KU all-time scoring list. Overall, McQuade is 38 points shy from becoming the KU scoring queen.

 

For McQuade this was her 26th career double-double and third this season. McQuade has scored in double figures 73 times during her outstanding career. She scored 30 points in a game twice during her sophomore year against the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Nov. 16, 2008) and Cheyney University (Feb. 25, 2009).

 

Freshman guard Andrea Sisson (Richmond, VA/Godwin) backed McQuade with a career-high 17 points on five 3-pointers and a pair of foul shots. Sophomore guard Ashley Wood (Limerick, PA/Spring-Ford) added 15 points. Both players finished with five assists each. Sophomore center Steph Zewe (Lewistown, PA/Indian Valley) contributed nine points and senior guard Meredith Starr (Richmond, VA/Monacan) scored seven points. Each player pulled down seven rebounds.

 

Kutztown finished with 23 assists on its 28 baskets. The Golden Bears also made 10 3-pointers and outrebounded the Huskies, 44-30.

 

Bloomsburg (10-4, 2-0) had five players reach double figures in scoring with Kelsey Gallagher leading the way with 19 points. Kayla Oxenrider had 14 points. Lauren Ellis and Alyssa Flanagan added 12 points each and Courtney Nyce finished with 10 points.

 

The Huskies made nine 3-pointers and shot 59.4 percent (19-for-32) in the first half to open a 53-38 lead at intermission. Overall, they finished with 13 3-pointers. Things got worse for Kutztown before they got better. Bloomsburg's largest lead was 67-47 with 14 minutes, 12 seconds remaining.

 

The Golden Bears continued fighting and as their deficit shrunk, Keystone Arena came alive. Kutztown scored on 11 consecutive possessions during its second-half comeback. Sisson buried a 3-pointer with 39 seconds remaining to pull KU to within, 85-84. The Huskies' next possession ended when McQuade corralled Gallagher's missed shot with 24 seconds remaining to give KU an opportunity to win.

 

Kutztown returns to action Wednesday night when it visits Hollinger Fieldhouse to take on West Chester University starting at 8 p.m.

 

--KU--