Photo Gallery GREENSBURG, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's basketball team trailed by 23 at halftime, but nearly overcame its poor first half by outscoring Seton Hill University by 17 in the second half as it suffered a 54-49 setback on the road on Tuesday evening in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover game at Seton Hill's McKenna Center.
The Golden Bears (3-4, 2-3 PSAC) took a little more time than they hoped to reacclimatize themselves after a week off of finals and 10 days off from competition. They shot 4-of-30 from the field in the first half as a 22-2 run put Seton Hill up 35-12 at halftime.
The Griffins (4-5, 1-3) not only shot 7-of-9 from the field during the run, but they held the Golden Bears to without a field goal in the final 8:11 of the half in their final 14 attempts.
That draught ended on the first possession of the second half, when an
Alyssa Bonenberger (Walnutport, Pa./Northampton Area) layup ignited a 10-2 KU run out of the locker room to pull within 15 at 37-22 with 16:20 to play.
Trailing by 18 later in the half, KU went on a 12-2 run and cut the deficit to single-digits at eight (49-41) by holding Seton Hill to 1-of-13 shooting during the run.
KU held Seton Hill without a field goal for the final four minutes, and trailed by five with a chance to pull within one possession on multiple occasions, but was unable to close with any late baskets.
After shooting 13.3 percent from the field in the first half, Kutztown improved to 46.7 percent in the second half to finish at 30 percent for the game. Seton Hill was lowered from 41.4 percent in the first half to 20 percent in the second half to finish at 30.5 percent.
Sophomore
Kelsey Watson (Collegeville, Pa./Methacton) notched her first double-double of the season with 15 points and a career-high-tying 13 rebounds. She shot 7-for-15 from the field and grabbed three steals.
Natalya Lee (Feasterville, Pa./Rancocas Valley Regional) scored all 11 of her points in the second half. She made two three-pointers and shot 5-of-6 at the free throw line, and posted season-highs with nine rebounds and five assists.
Advia Campbell (Mount Laurel, N.J./Lenape) rounded out KU's three double-digit scorers with 10 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and three steals. She moved into third place in the KU record book for career blocks with 139, passing Monique Boykins' 136.
Bonenberger finished with eight points and nine rebounds.
Seton Hill had four players score seven or more points, led by Meghan Mastroianni's 11 points and eight rebounds, and Halie Torris' 10 points. Chelsea Apke finished with 12 rebounds.
The Golden Bears look to rebound overnight, as they travel to California University (PA) on Wednesday, Dec. 17 for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff against the Vulcans.
