KUTZTOWN, Pa. (February 18, 2011) – The Kutztown University women's basketball team is inching along toward its goal of qualifying for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) playoffs. With three games remaining, and a one-game (essentially two-game lead) over Shippensburg, the math is in the Golden Bears' favor as they visit East Stroudsburg University Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. and fans can follow with LIVE STATS
If certain things work their way and the Golden Bears (13-10, 6-5) beat the Warriors (5-18, 2-9), then KU could have its third straight trip to the PSAC playoffs secured by the time it returns to campus Saturday evening. The Golden Bears are looking to beat the Warriors for the seventh straight time. This is the second meeting this season between the two teams. Kutztown pulled away to claim a 69-52 victory at Keystone Arena on Jan. 22.
That game was much closer than the final score indicated. The Golden Bears finished the game with an 18-5 run over the final four minutes. KU senior forward Melissa McQuade (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler) scored 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in that victory to become the all-time leading scorer in women's basketball history. ESU was led by 12 points each from freshman guard Andrea Veres and redshirt junior forward Brittany McClain, and junior guard Cyara Woodridge had 11 points.
Kutztown defeated Cheyney, 84-62 Wednesday night behind a balanced scoring effort that saw the Golden Bear version of “The Big Three” combine for 57 points. McQuade scored 15 of her 20 points in the second half. Meredith Starr (Richmond, VA/Monacan) scored a career-high 19 points and Ashley Wood (Limerick, PA/Spring-Ford) finished with 18 points.
Meanwhile, East Stroudsburg gave Millersville a battle before dropping a 75-64 decision Wednesday evening. Woodridge had career-highs of 22 points and 10 rebounds for her first career double-double. Woodridge scored 13 of ESU's 38 points in the second half and also tied her career-high with four steals. Freshman guard Andrea Veres added to Woodridge's total with 18 points for ESU.
One of Kutztown's strengths this season has been its ability to shoot the 3-pointer. The Golden Bears lead the conference in 3-point shooting percentage (40.5 percent). Kutztown has three players who have made at least 40 3-pointers: freshman Andrea Sisson (Richmond, VA/Godwin) (48), Wood (42), and McQuade (41). All three players are shooting over 40 percent from beyond the arc. Kutztown made 12 3-pointers in its win over Cheyney earlier this week.
McQuade leads Kutztown in points per game (17.0), rebounds per game (8.9), assists (87), blocks (16) and steals (47). For her outstanding career McQuade has scored 1,558 points and grabbed 926 rebounds. She also has 29 career double-doubles. This season, McQuade has scored 20 or more points five times.
Wood has blossomed this season and has proven to be an effective running mate to McQuade. The thin spark-plug with the smooth moves has scored in double figures in 10 straight contests. Wood scored all of Kutztown's points during a game-deciding 10-0 burst in the win over Cheyney in the first half that gave KU control of the contest. Overall, this year, Wood is averaging 13.7 points per contest. She has led the Golden Bears in scoring eight times.
Starr has been a steady veteran presence during the season. She has helped stabilize and organize the Golden Bears throughout the season. She has led by example. Although she averages 7.2 points per game and has 82 assists, Starr has been a valuable asset contributing in ways that statistics can't measure.
East Stroudsburg has led most of the season by Veres. She averages 10.7 points per game and has won the PSAC East Freshman of the Week four times this season. Woodridge has played nine games and she leads the Warriors in scoring with a 13.9 point per game average. Brittany McClain averages 9.1 points and 4.1 rebounds. Barb Borst contributes 8.6 points per outing. She leads ESU with 44 made 3-pointers.
Both teams return to action Wednesday night when they start the final week of the 2010-11 regular season. Kutztown visits Mansfield University in a 5:30 p.m. start while ESU hosts Bloomsburg beginning at 6 p.m.
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