LIVE STATS KU vs. Mansfield

KUTZTOWN, Pa. (January 24, 2012)— The Kutztown University women's basketball team is gearing up for a riveting road trip that will feature Mansfield University and Bloomsburg University in a pair on Pennsylvania State Athlete Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division contests.

The Golden Bears (6-12 overall, 4-8 PSAC) will visit the Mounties (6-10 overall, 3-9 PSAC) on Wednesday, Jan. 25. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m. at Decker Gymnasium. Kutztown will head to Bloomsburg (14-4 overall, 8-4 PSAC) on Saturday, Jan. 28. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Nelson Field House.

Kutztown is coming off an immense week that featured its first consecutive wins of the 2011-12 season. The Golden Bears defeated Cheyney last week 76-66, and topped off the week by holding off Millersville 63-57.

KU is 2-6 on the road this season but is ready for the upcoming challenge as it'll face two of the PSAC's top leaders in scoring.

Last season, the Golden Bears defeated Mansfield twice. KU walked away with a thundering 76-44 win at Keystone Arena on Feb. 2, 2011. Kutztown traveled to Decker Gymnasium three weeks later where it won 73-59. However, against the Huskies, KU hasn't been so lucky. The Golden Bears fell three times to Bloomsburg last season, once at Keystone Arena, 87-84 and twice at Nelson Field House, 85-70 and 80-66 in a PSAC quarterfinal match that ended KU's 2010-11 season.

Bloomsburg is currently second in the PSAC East, while Kutztown and Mansfield are in fifth and six respectively.

Junior Ashley Wood (Limerick, PA/Spring-Ford) (Limerick, PA/ Spring Ford) led the Golden Bears in scoring in both games last week. Wood who is averaging 14.9 points per game, scored 23 points against Cheyney and 13 over Millersville. Wood is seventh in the PSAC in scoring has recorded double figures in scoring 13 times this season.

Sophomores Andrea Sisson (Richmond, VA/Godwin) (Richmond, VA/ Godwin) and Avery Hodgson (Surf City, NJ/Southern Regional) (Surf City, NJ/ Southern Regional) each chimed in big points for KU last week. Sisson added 14 points over Cheyney and 10 against the Marauders. She is averaging 12.2 ppg and is shooting 46 percent from the field and 44 percent from the 3-point range. Sisson is tied for first in the conference for 3-point field goals made with 2.7/game. Hodgson recorded a double-double against Millersville and had 12 points against Cheyney. Hodgson is third on the team in scoring (9.8) and continues to be the PSAC's best free throw shooter as she is 92.4 percent from the line.

Kutztown's defense will have to be top notch as Mansfield's Malorie Moore leads the PSAC in scoring (18.3) and Bloomsburg's Dana Weiller is third (16.9). It shouldn't be a problem as KU's Steph Zewe (Lewistown, PA/Indian Valley) (Lewiston, PA/ Indian Valley) spearheads a defense that leads the conference in defensive rebounds (28.4). Zewe is also fourth in the PSAC in rebounding (8.6).

Moore, who was recently named PSAC East Athlete of the Week, recorded her third double-double of the season in a 57-54 win over Cheyney Saturday afternoon scoring 18 points and bringing down 12 rebounds. On Wednesday, Moore scored a game-high 24 points against Bloomsburg, but fell 84-75 on the road. Julia Stevenson is chipping is 12.6 ppg for the Mounties who are averaging 65.3 ppg.

The Huskies who are led by Weiller, have not lost two games in a row this season. Each loss has been followed with a win as the Huskies average 79 points in those games, winning by an average of 12.7. Kelsey Gallagher is tallying 15.1 ppg which is sixth in the PSAC. Kayla Oxenrider is averaging 12.1 ppg.

With the 79-65 loss to PSAC East leading West Chester on Saturday, BU's win streak of five games was put to an end. Against West Chester, Bloomsburg was limited to just 65 points, their second lowest total of the season. It is only the fourth time BU has not scored 70 points or more. Oxenrider led with 16 points and placed two other Huskies in double figures in scoring. Against Mansfield on Wednesday, Bloomsburg was led by Weiller with 20 points and five assists. BU placed three others in double figures in scoring.