INDIANA, PA (January 9, 2011) – The Kutztown University women's basketball team dropped a 74-67 decision to Indiana University of Pa. Sunday afternoon in its final Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover game of the season. (BOXSCORE)
Melissa McQuade (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler) led the team with 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, including going 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. She is fourth on the all-time KU scoring list with 1,353 career points, and has 817 rebounds in her career.
Kutztown played well in the first half as it shot 56% from the floor, giving it a 40-29 lead heading into the break. Unfortunately, KU was plagued by turning the ball over 12 times in the second half while shooting just 34 percent from the field.
IUP went on a 19-6 run to start the second half, giving it a 48-46 lead with just under 12 minutes to go in the game. After being down by as many as 13, the Golden Bears were able to bring the Crimson Hawk lead to six at 69-63 off a Meredith Starr (Richmond, VA/Monacan) 3-pointer with 2 minutes, 34 seconds to go. Starr finished with eight points. That is the closest KU would get however, as IUP would capitalize on its trips to the free-throw line and turning KU turnovers into points.
The Golden Bears (7-5 overall) shot well from 3-point range as it went 8-for-17 for the game (47.1%). Shooting especially well from long range was freshman Andrea Sisson (Richmond, VA/Godwin). She went 4-for-8 from deep and tied her career high with 14 points. Sisson has given KU a great scoring option off the bench this season and is starting to see increased minutes because of it. Sisson played 24 minutes against IUP.
Also finishing in double figures was senior Kristen Murray (Harrisburg, PA/Trinity). She had 10 points off 4-of-9 shooting and made both of her free-throw attempts. Murray has continued to raise her scoring average as she has finished with 10 or more points in four of the last five games.
Steph Zewe (Lewistown, PA/Indian Valley) also played well on Sunday as she finished with a game and career-high 13 rebounds.
IUP moves to 8-4 this season and is currently riding a six-game winning streak. The Crimson Hawks were led by sophomore forward Sarah Pastorek who had 21 points and 12 rebounds. Lacey Claar had 13 points and Arika Ullman added 12.
Kutztown closes this year's PSAC Crossover games by going 2-2 with both of its wins coming at home against Mercyhurst and Slippery Rock. The Golden Bears now move into their in-conference schedule as it will play Shippensburg University on Wednesday January 12th beginning at 6:00 p.m.
--KU--
