KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's basketball team maintained control of the lead for nearly the entire 40 minutes on Saturday, but a strong second-half performance by visiting Slippery Rock University made things interesting. The Golden Bears ultimately prevailed, 64-62, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover matchup from Keystone Arena.
 
The Maroon and Gold (4-5, 3-4 PSAC) led by as many as 18 points in the second half until Slippery Rock (5-5, 1-5) sparked a 27-9 run lasting 13:22 to tie the game at 60-60 with 1:02 left to play.
 
Advia Campbell (Mount Laurel, N.J./Lenape) sunk two free throws to regain the lead with 37 seconds left, followed by a clutch steal by Natalya Lee (Feasterville, Pa./Rancocas Valley Regional) to retake possession. KU nailed two more free throws and limited the Rock to one bucket in the final seconds to secure the victory.
 
Both teams got off to a hot start offensively in the opening minutes. The two teams traded baskets and combined for 30 points in the first five minutes of action. Slippery Rock cooled off however, opening the game shooting 5-for-6 from the field, but ending the first stanza 3-for-23, which helped KU build an 11-point lead heading into the locker room.
 
The lion's share of KU points came from the starting trio of Campbell, Lee, and Kelsey Watson (Collegeville, Pa./Methacton). Campbell led the squad with 18 points, one shy of her career high, and brought down eight rebounds. Lee knocked down two three-pointers and finished with a season-high 14 points, while adding four assists and two steals.
 
Watson recorded the only double-double in the game, scoring 13 points and tying her career-best with 13 boards. She also swatted three blocks in the first half, setting a new personal-best. The sophomore has scored 13+ in each of the past four contests for KU.
 
Alyssa Bonenberger (Walnutport, Pa./Northampton Area) hit a triple in the opening 13 seconds of the game but was contained the rest of the way. The redshirt-senior added five rebounds and three assists. Brianna Morales (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic (Northampton County Community College)) tallied six points, four assists and two steal from the point guard position.
 
The Maroon and Gold went 5-for-10 from downtown on Saturday, their best three-point shooting performance of the season. KU held the advantage over SRU in bench points (10-5) and second-chance points (13-6).
 
Slippery Rock's D'Asia Chambers scored a game-high 26 points on 10-for-18 shooting and led her team with nine rebounds and three steals. Taylor Siggers went a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe to add to her 17 points. Point guard Erica Aiello was also flawless from the free-throw line and led the team with five assists.
 
The Golden Bears snapped a three-game losing skid with the victory and will next head to Philadelphia on Wednesday. Dec. 31 to close out 2014 with a non-conference matchup against Holy Family. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.