GREENSBURG, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's basketball team outscored Seton Hill 20-6 in the second quarter to take a 40-29 lead into halftime, and would lead by ten entering the fourth quarter, but the Griffins stormed back with a 15-2 run over the final 6:05 of regulation to send the game to overtime where they would pull away for a 78-74 victory in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover play on Saturday afternoon.
 
Senior Kelsey Watson (Collegeville, Pa./Methacton) scored a career-high 29 points in the losing effort and added a season and game-best 13 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. She shot 11-21 from the field, made a career-best 3-3 from beyond the arch and was one steal shy of a career-high with four.
 
Freshman Karen Lapkiewicz (Southampton, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) surpassed her career-high in scoring for the second straight game, contributing 11 points (career-best 6-8 FT) for her first career double-digit scoring output.
 
Fellow freshman Sierra Taylor (Williamstown, N.J./Camden Catholic) also had 11 points and led all players with four assists.
 
Senior Jenna Altomare (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa./State College Area) made both of her 3-point attempts to move into fourth place in program history with 146 for her career.

Down 20-23 after the first quarter, KU came back to tie it at 27 on an Altomare 3-pointer and then again at 29 on a Taylor layup with 5:58 left in the first half. That was the beginning of 13 unanswered for the Golden Bears entering the locker room as they held Seton Hill without a field goal for the final 6:07. Watson had seven during the stretch, including nailing a jumper with 21 seconds on the clock for the final basket of the half.
 
Kutztown maintained that double-digit lead throughout the majority of the third quarter, with SHU only getting close as eight on two occasions, and the Maroon and Yellow would take a 54-44 lead into the final 10 minutes of regulation.
 
That advantage grew to as large as 13, 59-46, on a Watson layup with 7:42 remaining, and although that would be KU's last field goal for 5:34, the Golden Bears were still in good position when an Alex Heck (Willow Grove, Pa./Archbishop Wood (Philadelphia U.)) jumper made the score 61-54 at the 2:08 mark.
 
Seton Hill (6-3, 4-1) answered with a 3-pointer just 11 seconds later to cut the lead to four, and after a Kutztown turnover, a Griffin layup made the score 61-59 with 58 seconds to go.
 
SHU then forced yet another turnover on the ensuing possession, which led to a fast break layup to tie the score for the first time in the second half.
 
After KU failed to win the game on the final possession of regulation, Seton Hill carried the momentum into overtime with the first six points, capped by a 3-pointer just 57 seconds into the extra period.
 
Kutztown kept it close over the next few minutes, and a Taylor Thames (Colmar, Pa./North Penn) jumper made it a one-point game, 74-75, with 21 seconds left. SHU answered with two free throws, but the Maroon and Gold had one final opportunity to second the game to a second overtime, which it was not able to convert, and the Griffins held on for the comeback triumph.
 
Jenna Kaufman led four Griffins in double-figures with 18 points, while Chrisanna Green was two points shy of a double-double with 13 rebounds.
 
KU takes a break from PSAC play for the first of three non-conference contests on Saturday, Dec. 17 at Chestnut Hill. Tip is set for 1 p.m.