KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Although Wilmington ended regulation on a 12-4 run over the final 2:09, and scored the first four points of overtime, the Kutztown University women's basketball team responded emphatically as the Golden Bears ended non-conference play with a 93-88 overtime victory over the visiting Wildcats on Wednesday afternoon in Keystone Arena.
 
A Jenna Altomare (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa./State College Area) 3-pointer after Wilmington took an 80-76 lead just 1:11 into the extra period sparked an 11-3 surge that gave KU (4-9) the lead for good. After the Wildcats answered on their next trip down the floor, the Maroon and Gold rattled off eight unanswered - the first six of which were on Alex Heck (Willow Grove, Pa./Archbishop Wood (Philadelphia U.)) jump shots on three consecutive possessions. Sierra Taylor (Williamstown, N.J./Camden Catholic), who assisted on two of Heck's jumpers, then put an exclamation point on the game-winning run with two free throws to make the score 87-82 with 51 seconds remaining.
 
Wilmington made layups on its next three possessions, but each time Kutztown had the answer, as Altomare, Taylor and Heck combined to go 6-of-6 from the charity stripe in the final 32 seconds to put a stamp on KU's 23-for-25 free-throw shooting performance (92.0 percent) – its highest percentage since making a perfect 17-of-17 at Cheyney on Feb. 16, 2011.
 
Those two final foul shots capped a perfect 8-of-8 day at the line for Heck and gave her a career-high 28 points. She added 13 rebounds, one shy of a career-high, for her second double-double in the last three games, as she now has at least 13 rebounds in each of those contests. The graduate transfer made 10-of-17 from the floor and also added three assists and three steals, both of which were one shy of season-highs.
 
Also with a career-high in scoring was sophomore Taylor Thames (Colmar, Pa./North Penn), who scored 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting and contributed two rebounds, two assists and two steals.
 
Taylor had a career-high in assists as she led all players eight to go along with 11 points.
 
Kelsey Watson (Collegeville, Pa./Methacton) shot well, making 8-of-13 field goals and 6-of-6 free throws en route to contributing 22 points to go along with eight rebounds.
 
Altomare gave KU five players in double-figures with 13 points.
 
LaShyra Williams single-handedly did her best to keep Wilmington (4-9) in the game, as she scored 22 straight Wildcat points at one point - beginning with two free throws at the 3:05 mark of the fourth quarter and ending with a layup with 40 seconds left in overtime - en route to a game-high 33 points.
 
Kutztown looked to have game in hand when an Altomare jumper made the score 72-64 with 2:27 to play, but Williams scored the next seven points in just 1:35 to pull Wilmington within one.
 
After Watson made 2-of-2 from the line, and Williams answered with yet another basket, Wilmington fouled Watson yet again. The senior kept her cool once more, draining 2-of-2 to put KU on top, 76-73, with just 21 seconds remaining.
 
On the ensuing trip down the floor it was Williams with the ball in her hands once again, and she came through one more time by drawing a foul on a 3-pointer. She would make all three free throws to tie the game with nine seconds on the clock.
 
Each team had an opportunity to win the game in regulation, but a KU turnover and Wilmington miss sent the game to overtime.
 
KU now turns its attention to Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play, beginning on Friday, Dec. 30 when it hosts Shippensburg at 5:30 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the Golden Bear men.