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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – In the first meeting since the Kutztown University women's basketball team upset Shippensburg University in last season's playoffs, the Golden Bears' second-half comeback effort fell short on Wednesday evening. Kutztown erased a 10-point halftime deficit, but the Raiders came out on top, 59-55, in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) action from Keystone Arena.
 
Kutztown (6-9, 5-7 PSAC) took the lead 16 seconds into the game with a three-pointer from Alyssa Bonenberger (Walnutport, Pa./Northampton Area), but Shippensburg (10-7, 6-5) immediately responded with a triple of its own. The Raiders prevented the Golden Bears from regaining a lead for the remainder of the game.
 
Despite not sinking a field goal in the final 5:48 of the first half, Shippensburg held a 29-19 lead heading into the locker room. The Golden Bears put themselves in a hole with a poor shooting effort in the first 20 minutes (7-for-29; 24.1 percent).
 
The two teams traded buckets in the opening minutes of the second half, until Jess Harvey (Barnegat, N.J./Rumson Fair-Haven Regional) and Natalya Lee (Feasterville, Pa./Rancocas Valley Regional) hit back-to-back three-pointers to cut the deficit to six points (37-31) at the 14:33 mark. The Raiders pushed the lead back out to double digits, but an ensuing 6-0 run by the Golden Bears brought them within four of the visiting team.
 
Kutztown battled to a 49-49 tie with six minutes to play, but the Raiders sunk multiple free throws down the stretch to preserve the victory.
 
Bonenberger got off to a hot start in the first half (9 points) but cooled off in the second. She finished with a team-high 11 points and shot 50 percent from the field (4-for-8), while adding seven rebounds and a team-high two steals.
 
Advia Campbell (Mount Laurel, N.J./Lenape) also brought down seven boards and added 10 points for the offense. A defensive force around the basket, she swatted away a season-high five blocks.
 
Kelsey Watson (Collegeville, Pa./Methacton) notched nine points to surpass the 400-mark in her young career, while adding five rebounds.  Lee sunk three from beyond the arc to finish with nine points and Brianna Morales (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic (Northampton County Community College)) dished out four assists.
 
The Raider's presence down low was too much for the Golden Bears to handle. Ship held a 46-35 advantage in the rebounding column and outscored KU 38-22 in the paint.
 
Sophomore Morgan Griffith carried the Raiders with her dominance in the paint. Griffith played all 40 minutes of the game, recording an impressive 20 points, 19 rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. Stephanie Knauer made up the other piece of the frontcourt tandem, notching 14 points, five boards and a game-high four steals. Colleen Young and Logan Snyder tallied nine points apiece.
 
After a two-game home stretch, the Golden Bears will next hit the road for two away contests. Before a nonconference game against the Philadelphia University of Sciences, the Golden Bears must take on the PSAC-East-leading Bloomsburg University Huskies this Saturday, Jan. 17 at 1 p.m.