Box Score



KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Kutztown University turned in its best shooting day in over two years and held off a second half surge by visiting West Chester in the first round of the PSAC Women's Basketball Championships.
 
With the win, Kutztown advances to the PSAC Quarterfinals at top seeded Bloomsburg on Tuesday, March 5 at 7 p.m.  The Huskies earned a first round bye in the tournament by virtue of winning the PSAC regular season crown.
 
The Golden Bears connected on 55 percent of their field goal attempts, the best shooting day for the KU women since hitting 56 percent against Mercyhurst in January 2011.
 
Natalya Lee (Feasterville, Pa./Rancocas Valley Regional) sunk her first eight field goals of the game and finished 8-of-9 on the afternoon.  She matched a career-high with 20 points and grabbed eight boards to go with five assists. Ashley Wood (Limerick, PA/Spring-Ford) had 17 points and six assists in the game.  Advia Campbell (Mount Laurel, N.J./Lenape) scored 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting, grabbed nine boards and blocked two shots. Alyssa Bonenberger (Walnutport, PA/Northampton Area) had her seventh double-double of the year with 12 points on 6-of-12 shooting and 10 rebounds. Tanejha Smith (Allentown, PA/William Allen) came off the bench for 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting and had four assists.
 
KU's hot shooting resulted in 22 assists on 31 made field goals.
 
Kutztown overcame 15 first half turnovers by shooting 50 percent in the opening 20 minutes to carry a 33-28 lead into the break. 
 
After scoring just 28 points in the first half, West Chester poured in 37 in the first 10 minutes of the second half and claimed a 65-56 lead with 10:15 to play on a layup by Megan Kerrigan.
 
KU's defense turned up the heat after that, however, holding the Golden Rams without a field goal for nearly seven minutes.  While WCU went 0-fo-10 shooting during that time with six turnovers, the Golden Bears scored 14 straight points and took a 70-65 lead after a bucket by Wood with 3:42 to play.
 
Kutztown shot 60 percent in the second half (18-of-30) and made 11 free throws, compared to seven free throw attempts in the half by West Chester.
 
Alex Lennon had 22 points and 11 rebounds in the losing effort.  Ambreelinne Ortman added 16 pionts, while Brittany Sicinski pitched in with 15. 
 
The win was the 16th of the year for Kutztown, the most since the 2009-10 squad's 19 victories.  It also marked the first win in the PSAC Tournament since the 2005-06 season when the Golden Bears defeated East Stroudsburg in the quarterfinals 55-50 before fall to Edinboro in the semifinals.