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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's basketball team begins a three-game stretch of non-conference contests on Saturday, Dec. 17 when it travels to Philadelphia for a 1 p.m. matchup with Chestnut Hill. The Golden Bears are currently riding a six-game winning streak against the Griffins dating back to the 2008-09 season.
 
Kutztown (2-8) is coming off a heartbreaking, 74-78, overtime defeat at Seton Hill on Saturday, Dec. 10 in which the Maroon and Gold led by 11 with 6:05 remaining. Despite the setback, at 1-4, KU currently sits just one game behind Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division leaders East Stroudsburg and Lock Haven with league play taking a break until Friday, Dec. 30. 
 
Senior Kelsey Watson (Collegeville, Pa./Methacton) led Kutztown with a career-high 29 points at Seton Hill as she made a career-best 11 field goals, which included going a perfect 3-3 from beyond the arch. With six points on Saturday, she will move into 11th place all-time in program history. She currently leads the Golden Bears with an average of 13.6 points per game, which puts her at 17th in the PSAC.
 
Watson added a season-high 13 rebounds at Seton Hill for her first double-double of the season and can also move into 11th place in KU history with seven boards, while cracking crack the top-10 with nine. She ranks eighth in the PSAC with an average of 8.2 rebounds per game, and is also 10th in field goal percentage (.441) and 15th in blocks per game (1.0).
 
Fellow senior Jenna Altomare (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa./State College Area) also improved her positioning in the record book on Saturday as she moved into sole possession of fourth place with her 147th career 3-pointer. In doing so, she extended her program record for consecutive games with a made 3-pointer to 34. Averaging 11.4 points, she is fourth in the PSAC in 3-pointers per game (2.5) and ninth in 3-point percentage (.357).
 
Ranking second on Kutztown behind Watson in both points and rebounds is graduate-transfer Alex Heck (Willow Grove, Pa./Archbishop Wood (Philadelphia U.)), whose averages of 13.2 points and 6.5 rebounds are both 19th in the PSAC. She is also 17th in free throw percentage (.773).
 
Freshman Sierra Taylor (Williamstown, N.J./Camden Catholic) gives KU four players who average double-figures, as she averages 10.9 points and a team-best 3.3 assists, the latter of which ranks 11th in the PSAC. The rookie is also seventh in both assist/turnover ratio (1.5) and free throw percentage (.833).
 
Fellow freshman Karen Lapkiewicz (Southampton, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) has surpassed her season-high in points in each of the previous two games, highlighted by an 11-point performance at Seton Hill that surpassed her point-total from her first seven appearances of the season.
 
Chestnut Hill will enter Saturday in the midst a three-game losing streak as it most recently fell to Philadelphia University, 51-71, last Saturday. The Griffins had begun their campaign 5-1 before the recent stretch of results.
 
Caity Kuhnen leads Chestnut Hill, and ranks fifth in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC), with an average of 16.1 points per game. She is also third in 3-point percentage (.472) and is in the top-20 of the league in rebounds per game (6.0), field goal percentage (.442), 3-pointers per game (1.9) and free throw percentage (.647).
 
Mary Torssi's 6.0 assists per contest and 3.0 assist/turnover ratio is atop the CACC.
 
Following Saturday's contest, KU has a short turnaround as it returns to Philadelphia for a Monday afternoon matinee on Dec. 19 at the abovementioned Philadelphia U at 1 p.m.