Box Score



WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Kutztown's Ashley Wood (Limerick, PA/Spring-Ford) scored a game-high 26 points and Alyssa Bonenberger (Walnutport, PA/Northampton Area) turned in her second straight double-double as the Golden Bears held off West Chester, 79-74.
 
Wood had a superb all-around effort.  She sank 10-of-20 field goals, including one three-point field goal, and went 5-of-6 from the line.  She also had two rebounds, four assists, two steals and a pair of blocked shots.  Wood moved into KU's top 10 all-time in scoring with 1,087 points, passing Mercedes Van Wagner, who scored 1,067 from 2004-08. The two blocks doubled her season total.
 
Bonenberger, fresh of a monster 18-point, 20-rebound effort at Slippery Rock, had 13 points and 13 rebounds against WCU.  The junior shot 5-of-8 from the floor and had two steals. 
 
After KU carried a 36-25 lead into the half, the game's second half featured a huge run by each team.  A three by Ambreelinne Ortman cut the Golden Bears' lead to 41-33 with 16:58 left in the game, but an Advia Campbell (Mount Laurel, N.J./Lenape) layup stretched the lead back to double digits.
 
The bucket also started a 25-7 run by Kutztown that resulted in a 66-40 lead with 8:02 left after a jumper by Wood, who scored 15 points in what appeared to be a back breaking run by KU. 
 
A jumper in the paint by the Golden Rams' Dallas Ely appeared harmless, but it ignited a 26-8 run by West Chester that shaved Kutztown's lead back to single digits, 74-66, with 1:40 to go in the contest. 
 
Wood was fouled on KU's next possession and stretched the lead back to 10, and two more free throws by Tanejha Smith (Allentown, PA/William Allen) put the Golden Bears on top 78-66 with 1:08 on the clock.  Kutztown still led by 11 nearly 40 seconds later after a foul shot by Alyssa Bonenberger (Walnutport, PA/Northampton Area), but West Chester still had life.
 
Brittany Sicinski's layup pulled the Golden Rams within nine, 79-70, with 28 seconds remaining. Alex Lennon would cut further into the Kutztown lead with layups at the 14 second and three second marks, but KU managed to play keep away for its final possession for the win.
 
The first half featured a 21-2 run by Kutztown that erased a three point deficit to put the Golden Bears ahead 32-16 with 3:12 left in the half.  Kutztown held West Chester to just 28 percent shooting in the half, including 2-of-12 from long range. 
 
In addition to big games from Wood and Bonenberger, KU got double digit scoring efforts from Natalya Lee (Feasterville, Pa./Rancocas Valley Regional) and Smith.  Lee hit 3-of-5 field goals, both of her three-point attempts and all four of her free throws on her way to a dozen points.  Smith, meanwhile, added 10 points.
 
Lee also had a career-high eight rebounds and two steals in the game. Arianna Apostolopoulos (Yonkers, NY/Ursuline) dished out a team-best five assists.
 
Lennon scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead West Chester.  Sicinski netted 14 points, while Ortman added 13 and Ely had a dozen.
 
For the game, KU shot 47 percent, including 52 percent in the second half.  The Golden Rams struggled with shooting all evening, hitting just 39 percent of the floor and hit just 6-of-22 from behind the arc (28 percent) and 10-of-21 from the foul line (48 percent).
 
The win kept Kutztown ahead of West Chester in the PSAC East Standings.  The Golden Bears are now 6-4 in the conference, while the Golden Rams are 5-5.  The teams have matching 8-6 records overall. 
 
KU hosts East Stroudsburg on January 19 at 1 p.m. at Keystone Arena.