EDINBORO, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's basketball team came up big on the road on Saturday as it came away with a 65-63 victory over Edinboro University in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover contest from McComb Fieldhouse.
Kutztown travelled to Edinboro to square off against the Fighting Scots, who were picked to finish second in the PSAC Western Division, as the opening five minutes of the fourth quarter proved to be the difference. Trailing by one after the third quarter, Kutztown opened the fourth with a 13-1 run to build a game-high, 11-point lead with 5:41 to play. KU had five different scorers during the run and limited Edinboro to 0-for-9 from the field.
With all but three minutes left in the game, Edinboro found itself down 62-53, and promptly went on a 7-0 run to bring the game to 62-60 with 36 seconds to play. Two clutch free throws by junior
Kelsey Watson (Collegeville, Pa./Methacton) gave KU the 64-60 lead with nine seconds to play, as KU was able to hold on for the victory despite a late three-pointer by Edinboro.
Watson led the Golden Bear offense with a career-high 22 points while also pulling away with a team-high 13 rebounds. The Maroon and Gold relied heavily on their starters in the contest as the starting five all played a minimum of 36 minutes.
Jenna Altomare (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa./State College Area) was the lone Golden Bear to play every minute of the contest. She finished the game with 13 points, including nine from beyond the arc, and also dished out three assists. This was the first 40-minute game of Altomare's career.
Senior captain
Natalya Lee (Feasterville, Pa./Rancocas Valley Regional) pitched in 10 points, six rebounds and three assists. She was big in the second half for the Golden Bears as she scored all 10 of her points in crunch time.
Kara Funk (Dover, Pa./Dover) got her first start of the young season and came up with six points and four assists.
Gina Lewis (Atlantic City, N.J./Holy Spirit) provided quality minutes off the bench as she provided seven points and five rebounds.
The Edinboro offense was paced by Michelle Jahn, who was deadly from downtown with five three-pointers and 18 total points. Aignee' Freeland chipped in 15 points and Lauren Hippo came up with a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds).
Kutztown will have a quick turnaround as it plays its second road game of the weekend against Mercyhurst University on Sunday, Nov. 22 at 1 p.m.
