KUTZTOWN, Pa. (February 27, 2011) – Despite the underdog label, the fourth-seeded Kutztown University women's basketball team is comfortable and confident as it prepares to open the 2011 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) playoffs at top-seeded Bloomsburg University Tuesday night at Nelson Field House. Game time is 7:00 p.m.
Ticket prices are $7 for adults and $2 for students. However, students from member institutions will be admitted free with a valid I.D. There will be no complimentary tickets and only PSAC passes will be accepted at the door.
Over the last two years, Kutztown (15-11 overall) and Bloomsburg (21-5) have seen each other with the same frequency as actress Lindsay Lohan has visited the inside of a courtroom. This will be the sixth matchup between the Golden Bears and Huskies during that span. Bloomsburg has won four of the five meetings.
The sixth playoff meeting all-time between the two teams is a rematch of last season's quarterfinal contest won by Kutztown, 74-67, in overtime at Keystone Arena. Kutztown is 2-3 all-time in playoff matchups against the Huskies. Both of KU's victories have been at home.
The Golden Bears are hoping history can repeat itself. Last season, Bloomsburg swept the regular season series before KU finally solved the Huskies in the playoff game. This season, the Huskies won 87-84 at Kutztown on Jan. 15 and 85-70 at Bloomsburg on Feb. 12.
“I feel like this is last year all over again because we lost to them twice last year and beat them in the playoffs,” sophomore guard Ashley Wood (Limerick, PA/Spring-Ford) said. “Now we have an opportunity to do the same thing. We have nothing to lose and they have everything to lose. I like being the underdog because nobody expects anything from you. We're going to work hard, play together as a team and see what happens. We're excited about the challenge in front of us.”
This is the third straight season and 17th time in program history that Kutztown has qualified for the PSAC playoffs. The Golden Bears are looking for their second straight trip to the PSAC semifinals. Bloomsburg, the PSAC East champion for the first time since 2001, rolls into its third matchup against Kutztown on an 11-game winning streak. The Golden Bears have lost in their last two visits to Bloomsburg.
The Golden Bears finished their regular season by losing to Millersville, 67-58. Bloomsburg used a big second half burst to beat West Chester, 67-48.
Although Kutztown may be an underdog in this matchup, the Golden Bears have the tools to keep their season going. Having Melissa McQuade (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler), Wood, and Meredith Starr (Richmond, VA/Monacan) on the floor makes Kutztown a threat to do some special things. McQuade is Kutztown's all-time leading scorer (1,607 points) and rebounder (967) in program history.
McQuade scored 30 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the first game against BU. Trailing by a point in the first meeting, the Golden Bears had the ball with a chance to win. Wood burned Bloomsburg for 24 points in the second matchup. If they have big games on the same night, then the Golden Bears will definitely be a handful for the Huskies. McQuade and Wood are the Golden Bears' top two scorers.
McQuade, who averages 16.9 points and 9.1 rebounds, has recorded 30 double-doubles, and scored in double figures 83 times. She is fifth in the PSAC in both categories. Meanwhile, Wood averages 13.8 points per game. Wood has reached double digits in scoring in 11 straight games. In the two games against Bloomsburg this season, McQuade has averaged 23.5 points and Wood has scored at a 19.5 point per game clip. The Golden Bears have won the rebounding battle both games, but they have connected on just 40.5 percent of their shots in the games.
“We relish the underdog role,” McQuade said. “We know we need to change some things from the last time we played them. We're going to leave everything out on the floor and do everything we can to put ourselves in a position to win at the end of the game. Going to the Final Four last year was awesome and I want everybody to experience that.”
Other key performers for the Golden Bears include freshman Andrea Sisson (Richmond, VA/Godwin) (team leading 51 3-pointers and 8.8 point per game average), Starr (96 assists and 7.3 points per game), and sophomore Steph Zewe (Lewistown, PA/Indian Valley) (7.5 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per contest). Brittany Le Van will look to build on her season-high 15 point performance against Millersville.
Meanwhile, teams kept waiting for the Huskies to have an off shooting night and it hasn't happened. Bloomsburg has made double-digit 3-pointers in 18 games this season. The Huskies have attempted 710 3-pointers this season. Think of the Huskies as a well-balanced and talented team with a bunch of Ray Allen's and Reggie Miller's. KU coach Janet Malouf is well aware of the Huskies shooting prowess from beyond the arc. Bloomsburg made 13 3-pointers in the first meeting and 14 in the second matchup.
“You're happy to make playoffs and you have to think you have a chance against the No. 1 team,” Malouf said. “You can upset the No. 1 seed. It's happened before in our conference. We lost to them twice last year and beat them in the playoffs so why can't we do it again. We have to make sure we force them to put the ball on the floor and make them do something with it as opposed to just letting them shoot because they have good shooters.”
Bloomsburg has one of the top scoring duos in the conference in Dana Weiller and Kelsey Gallagher. Weiller is second in the PSAC in scoring (18.1 points per game). Gallagher also ranks in the top 10 as she averages 16.6 points per game. Kayla Oxenrider also averages double figures for the Huskies. She scores at an 11.1 point per game clip. Weiller and Gallagher have combined to make 151 3-pointers.
Gallagher led five Huskies in double figures in the first matchup against KU with 19 points. Weiller only finished with eight points in that game. In the second meeting, Weiller had 24 points and she made six 3-pointers. Defensively, the Huskies allowed less than 70 points in 12 of their 14 PSAC East. Kutztown was the only PSAC East team to score 70 or more points against Bloomsburg this season.
The other women's first round matchups feature West Chester (20-6, 11-3) at Millersville (21-5, 11-3), Mercyhurst at Edinboro (23-3, 13-1) and third-seeded California, Pa. (20-6, 11-3) at Indiana, Pa. (19-7, 11-3). The quarterfinal winners will advance to the Final Four, which will be hosted by the highest remaining seeded team in the East beginning Friday night.
--KU--
