KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's basketball team recorded a 97-59 victory over Penn State Lehigh Valley on Saturday afternoon in a non-conference matchup at Keystone Arena behind a school-record 25 steals, including a career-high seven from junior guard Jenna Altomare (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa./State College Area).
 
Kutztown (4-1, 2-1 PSAC) struggled at the onset of the first quarter, falling behind the Nittany Lions 7-6 in the first five minutes of play. The Golden Bears subsequently went on a 20-3 run from that point into the beginning of the second quarter to take a 26-10 lead. KU never trailed again in the game after the first five minutes of the first quarter.
 
The Golden Bears outscored the Nittany Lions 35-15 in the second quarter, including a 23-7 spurt to end the half. KU led 53-25 at halftime and cruised the rest of the way to a 97-59 win.
 
Turnovers were a major factor in the contest. Kutztown committed 19, while Penn State Lehigh Valley had 34. Kutztown held a 25-10 advantage in steals and a whopping 46-13 advantage in points off turnovers which proved to be a major factor in the outcome of the game.
 
KU's 97 points scored is tied for the third-most in team history. It was the highest point total for the Golden Bears since they scored 93 against Mansfield at the beginning of the 2014 season. The 25 steals broke the previous school-record of 22, which was at Mansfield in 2013.
 
Juniors Kelsey Watson (Collegeville, Pa./Methacton) and Altomare each led KU in scoring with 17 points each. In addition to Altomare's seven steals, she had two three-pointers and two assists. Watson was 8-of-11 from the field and had five rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.
 
Natalya Lee (Feasterville, Pa./Rancocas Valley Regional) recorded 11 points, three rebounds and three steals to go along with eight assists, which tied her career-high. It was her fifth consecutive double-digit scoring game to start the season and her ninth in a row dating back to the end of last season. She currently has 936 career points, 64 shy of becoming the 15th player in KU history to record 1,000.
 
Sophomore Keifonna Ferguson (Norristown, Pa./Norristown Area) set career-highs with 10 points, five rebounds and two steals in 17 minutes off the bench. Freshman Allison Girardi (Somerset, N.J./Immaculata) set season-highs with nine points, six assists and three steals.
 
Taylor Thames (Colmar, Pa./North Penn) played 26 minutes off the bench, recording season-highs of eight points, three rebounds and three steals. Gina Lewis (Atlantic City, N.J./Holy Spirit) had six points and five rebounds.
 
Kutztown had eight players record two or more steals and all 12 players on the team that appeared in the game scored at least two points.
 
The Golden Bears held a decisive 41-13 advantage over Penn State Lehigh Valley in bench points and a 23-8 edge in second-chance points.
 
Penn State Lehigh Valley (2-3, 0-0 PSUAC) had four players score in double-figures. Llaci Henry had a team-high 13 points and four steals. Ashley Gordon had 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Andrea Watkins recorded 10 points and six assists, while Nicole Amann contributed 11 points off the bench.
 
Kutztown is back in action on Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 5:30 p.m. at Millersville in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division matchup inside Pucillo Gymnasium.