KUTZTOWN, Pa. (February 18, 2012)—The Kutztown University women's basketball team dropped a 69-50 decision to the hands of Bloomsburg University in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Division game at Keystone Arena, Saturday afternoon.

The Golden Bears (7-19 overall, 5-15 PSAC) were led by junior Steph Zewe (Lewistown, PA/Indian Valley) (Lewistown, Pa./ Southern Regional) who recorded her seventh double-double of the season. Zewe finished with a team-high 16 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. Zewe's durability on the glass has been substantial for the Golden Bears as she is second in the conference in defensive rebounds (7.5/game).

It was Kutztown's defense that made a bold statement in the first half as it limited the PSAC East Division leader to just 23 points. KU jumped to 13-7 lead with nine minutes, two seconds remaining after Zewe drained a 3-pointer. The Golden Bears continued to stay ahead of the Huskies (22-4 overall, 16-4 PSAC) and pushed to an eight point led following a jumper from junior Ashley Wood (Limerick, PA/Spring-Ford) (Limerick, Pa./Spring-Ford) giving KU the 20-12 led with 2:43 left. Bloomsburg who only shot 21.6 percent the field in the first half, quickly responded with back-to-back 3-pointers from Kelsey Gallagher and Dana Wieller to nip KU's led to 20-18 with 1:39 remaining.

With 1:15 left, Wieller hit another 3-pointer to tie the game 21-21. Freshman Advia Campbell (Mount Laurel, N.J./Lenape) (Mount Laurel, N.J./Lenape) put Kutztown back on top, 23-21 with a layup with 59 seconds left in play but BU's Maggie Borski tied the game again 23-23 just two seconds before intermission.

The Huskies had an entirely different mentality in the second half as they started an 8-2 run to push them to a 41-28 lead with 13:29 remaining. Bloomsburg then extended its lead to 49-33 with a pair of 3-pointers from Catherine Noack and Gallagher with 10:46 left. BU continued to use its range as it hit eight 3-pointers in the second half, making it difficult for the Golden Bears to keep up. The Huskies shot 80 percent from behind the arc in just the second half alone.

Sophomore Andrea Sisson (Richmond, VA/Godwin) (Richmond, Va./ Godwin) finished with ten points for the Golden Bears. Wood handed out a game-high five assists. Campbell recorded seven points.

Kayla Oxenrider led the Huskies with 19 points and was 5-for-13 from the field with three 3-pointers. Gallagher finished with 15 points, followed by Wieller with 12. Danielle Derr also finished in double figures for Bloomsburg with 12 points.

“We played hard in the first half,” Kutztown University head coach Janet Malouf said. “They weren't making shots and we were doing a pretty good job of covering their shooters and contending their shots. Unfortunately, we didn't take advantage of that, we missed a lot of easy shots ourselves and we could have built a lead but our defensive effort in the first half was great.”

Saturday's game was also Senior Day for Kutztown seniors Brittany Greaves (Malvern, PA/Great Valley) (Malvern, Pa./ Great Valley) and Brittany LeVan (Centre Hall, PA/Penns Valley) (Centre Hall, Pa./ Penns Valley).

“The seniors are good kids,” Malouf said. “As a coach you always want good kids in your program. They work hard in the classroom and on the court. They try to work hard every day and bring what they can. They want their teammates to do well and they're always cheering them on.”

The Golden Bears return back to PSAC East Division action when they host Mansfield University on Wednesday, Feb. 22. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at Keystone Arena.