BAYAMON, P.R. – The Kutztown University women's basketball team played overseas on Thanksgiving.
Taylor Thames (Colmar, Pa./North Penn) made an and-1 layup with 28 seconds left in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime, but Saint Edward's 3-pointer with a similar 28 seconds left in overtime gave the Hilltoppers the edge in Kutztown's 74-70 defeat on Thursday at the Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez, an indoor coliseum.
The Golden Bears used a fourth-quarter comeback to push the game to overtime. KU trailed by nine at the end of the third, but a 10-0 run to open the fourth gave KU back the lead with 6:14 to play.
Saint Edward's led by five with 50 seconds to play. Two
Kelsey Watson (Collegeville, Pa./Methacton) free throws brought the deficit to three, but a KU intentional foul resulted in two missed free throw attempts by the Hilltoppers to give KU back the ball, down three, with 38 seconds to play. Thames' final layup and free throw in the waning seconds tied the game at 62, as Saint Edward's missed a final layup attempt to send KU to its first overtime game of the season.
The game was tied at 68 with 53 seconds to play in overtime. Following a
Kara Funk (Dover, Pa./Dover) layup to tie the game, Saint Edward's answered with a 3-pointer by Abby Hopper to give it the advantage. A missed KU shot and two Saint Edward's free throws put the game out of reach, as KU never got the ball back again in a one-possession game.
Five Golden Bears scored in double figures. Watson had 19 points with two 3-pointers, seven made free throws and nine rebounds. She also had all three of KU's blocks.
Kalee Fuegel (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) played 44-of-45 minutes and scored 12 points. Thames finished with 11, while
Alex Heck (Willow Grove, Pa./Archbishop Wood (Philadelphia U.)) and
Sierra Taylor (Williamstown, N.J./Camden Catholic) rounded out the quintet with 10 apiece.
For the Hilltoppers, Shakera Barnes scored 24 points that included 10 made free throws and seven rebounds. Khiani Clark scored 17 on 8-of-11 shooting with nine rebounds, while Haley Joly added 11.
Kutztown wraps up its Puerto Rico trip on Friday, Nov. 25, against Washburn at 9 a.m. Eastern Time.
