Live Stats KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's basketball team takes on Lock Haven University on Wednesday, Dec. 16, at 5:30 p.m. in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) road matchup inside Thomas Fieldhouse with senior guard
Natalya Lee (Feasterville, Pa./Rancocas Valley Regional) in position to potentially score her 1,000th career point.
Kutztown (5-3, 3-3 PSAC East) has dropped two of its last three games and will look to start a win streak against Lock Haven. KU lost its last game, 80-74, against Indiana (Pa.) at home. Kutztown won its most recent matchup with Lock Haven, a 74-52 victory in the first round of the 2015 PSAC Championships.
Lock Haven (4-5, 2-4) won its last game and three of its previous four. The Bald Eagles defeated Clarion in overtime, 84-76, on Saturday, Dec. 5.
The Golden Bears are currently tied for third in the PSAC East standings at 3-3 along with West Chester. Lock Haven is tied for fifth with Millersville at 2-4. Shippensburg is leading the way with a 4-2 mark in PSAC play, while Bloomsburg is second at 3-2.
Kutztown has one of the best offenses in the PSAC this season. It is second in the conference in scoring offense at 74.9 points per game and leads in scoring margin at 10.8. The Golden Bears have also put up good defensive numbers thus far. They are first in the PSAC in blocked shots per game (4.75) and second in steals (9.75).
Lock Haven is one of the strongest rebounding teams in the PSAC. It is second in rebounding with 42.6 per game and leads the conference in rebounding margin at 7.7.
Kutztown has been led by the tremendous play of three players this season. Juniors
Kelsey Watson (Collegeville, Pa./Methacton) and
Jenna Altomare (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa./State College Area), along with Lee, have scored about 65 percent of KU's points this season and all rank in the top-15 of the PSAC in scoring.
Watson has contributed in multiple areas for the Golden Bears. She leads the team in points per game (17.5, fifth in PSAC), rebounding (6.6), steals (19, sixth in PSAC), blocks (16, third in PSAC) and field goal percentage (54 percent, fifth in PSAC). Watson has scored in double-figures in all eight games this season and has five or more rebounds in seven games.
Altomare has excelled in her first season as a starter for Kutztown. She is second on the team in scoring at 15.6 points per game (12th in PSAC) and steals (14). Altomare has made her name known in the PSAC for her outstanding shooting from beyond the arc. She is shooting 29-of-66 from downtown (44 percent) thus far. Altomare leads the PSAC and is eighth in Division II with 3.6 threes per game and is third in the PSAC in three-point percentage.
Lee has had a great senior campaign for KU with a career-high 15.4 points per game (13th in PSAC) and 4.75 assists per game (seventh in PSAC). She also has 10 three-pointers and is shooting 25-of-29 from the free-throw line (86 percent, sixth in PSAC).
The Feasterville native heads into Wednesday's game with 981 career points, 19 shy of becoming the 15th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point milestone. Lee has scored 18 and 19 points in her last two games, so she may be able to reach the milestone on Wednesday night.
Lee would be the second player in the calendar year to reach the 1,000-point mark for KU.
Advia Campbell (Mount Laurel, N.J./Lenape) reached the 1,000-point threshold against Lock Haven on Feb. 28 in the first round of the PSAC playoffs. She finished her career with 1,018 career points.
Other key contributors for Kutztown this season have been juniors
Gina Lewis (Atlantic City, N.J./Holy Spirit) and
Kara Funk (Dover, Pa./Dover), as well as freshmen
Mariah Maciejewski (Dunmore, Pa./Dunmore) and
Taylor Thames (Colmar, Pa./North Penn). Lewis is fourth on the team with 6.4 points per game and third with 4.3 rebounds a game. Funk is second on the team in assists (23).
Maciejewski is averaging 3.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, and Thames has contributed with 3.0 points a game and 18 assists.
The Bald Eagles are led by J.J. Hilliard, Mackenzie Livingston and Lysa Mealing. Hilliard is averaging a team-high 11.6 points and 3.9 assists per game, while Livingston is averaging 11.2 points and 5.1 rebounds. Mealing is third on the team with 9.4 points a game and leads the team in rebounding at 12.1 per game (second in PSAC).
