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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's basketball team is spending part of its 2016 holiday break in Puerto Rico, where it will play two games in the Puerto Rico Clasico beginning on Thanksgiving day. The Golden Bears take on St. Edward's on Thursday, Nov. 24 at 11 a.m. before ending its trip with a matchup against Washburn on Friday, Nov. 25 at 9 a.m.
KU (1-3, 0-2 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC)) enters the trip on a three-game losing streak, most recently losing a fourth-quarter lead to Slippery Rock in a 65-72 setback on Sunday, Nov. 20. The Maroon and Gold led by three entering the final quarter and were up, 55-54, as late as the 6:49 mark when
Alex Heck (Willow Grove, Pa./Archbishop Wood (Philadelphia U.)) made a layup, but the Rock answered with the next six points.
Kelsey Watson (Collegeville, Pa./Methacton) became the 16th player in Kutztown history to score 1,000 points for her career in the defeat, while
Jenna Altomare (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa./State College Area) tied her school-record with seven made 3-pointers.
Watson and Altomare join Heck as the three Golden Bears who average double-figures. Heck's average of 15.8 points per game rank ninth in the PSAC, and she is also ninth with a 46.9 field goal percentage.
In addition to her 12.8 points per contest, Altomare's 3.3 3-point field goals per game are second in the PSAC, and she is ninth with a 33.3 3-piont field goal percentage.
Watson averages 10.5 points per game and is fifth in the PSAC, pulling down 9.5 rebounds per contest.
Those three lead an offense that averages 71.3 points per game, good for fifth in the PSAC. The Maroon and Gold also rank second in the league in free throw percentage (74.7).
Other notable Golden Bears include
Kalee Fuegel (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Basil Academy), who scored a career-high 13 points in a loss against No. 8 California (PA) on Saturday, Nov. 19 and leads Kutztown with an average of 4.3 assists per contest, good for 10th in the PSAC. Her 3.4 assist/turnover ratio is second in the conference.
Kara Funk (Dover, Pa./Dover) and
Sierra Taylor (Williamstown, N.J./Camden Catholic) are right behind Fuegel with averages of 4.0 assists and 3.8 assists, respectively, both of which are top-13 in the PSAC.
St. Edwards (1-4) is in the midst of a four-game losing after defeating Colorado Christian 74-68 in its season-opener. The first two losses came by seven points or less, while the last two have come by double-digits, including a 56-68 defeat at Texas A&M Commerce its last time out on Sunday, Nov. 20.
St. Edward's is the top rebounding team in the Heartland Conference, pulling down an average of 40.6 boards per game. Three Hilltoppers rank in the top-14 of the league in the category, led by Khiani Clark, who is sixth with an average of 8.2 per contest.
Shakera Barnes, a Preseason All-Heartland selection, leads the conference in assists per game (6.6) and ranks fifth with a team-leading 13.4 points per contest.
Washburn (2-2), the 2005 national champions, had two 16+ point wins and a four-point loss before falling to Drury by the score of 43-74 on Saturday, Nov. 19.
Reagan Phelan and Erika Lane are the only two Ichabods to average double-figures at 12.8 and 12.0 points per game, respectively. Felisha Gibbs grabs a team-high 6.0 rebounds per contest and Erin Dohnalek leads the team in assists per game (3.0).
When it returns to the States, Kutztown takes a week off before returning to PSAC play. The Maroon and Gold hit the road for crossover games at Pitt-Johnstown on Saturday, Dec. 3 and Indiana (PA) on Sunday, Dec. 4. Both contests are scheduled to tipoff at 1 p.m
