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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's basketball team begins play in the New Year by closing the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover portion of its schedule with Clarion on Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 5:30 p.m. in Keystone Arena.
 
Tuesday's contest will be first telecast on KUTV by the University's electronic media department this season. Fans can watch the game on Service Electric Cablevision Channel 24 and 524 (HD), Hometown Utilicom Channel 191 in Kutztown and eastern Berks Country, and Service Electric Channel 266 in the Lehigh Valley. All games are also available through KUTV's webcast.
 
Kutztown (1-5 PSAC, 4-10) had its two-game winning streak snapped its last time out on Friday, Dec. 30 against Shippensburg. The two teams were tied at 43 entering the fourth quarter before the Raiders pulled away for a 70-60 victory.
 
Alex Heck (Willow Grove, Pa./Archbishop Wood (Philadelphia U.)) led KU with 18 points and five rebounds, while Sierra Taylor (Williamstown, N.J./Camden Catholic) added 14 points and dished out 6+ assists for the third time in four games and Jenna Altomare (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa./State College Area) extended her school-record streak to 38 games with a made 3-pointer en route to 12 points.
 
That trio, along with Kelsey Watson (Collegeville, Pa./Methacton), gives Kutztown four players who average double-figures. Heck leads the way at 15.1 points per game, which is good for ninth in the PSAC. Watson is right behind her with an average of 13.6 points to rank 18th in the league. The duo also ranks in the top-10 of the conference in both rebounds per contest and field goal percentage. Watson is seventh in field goal percentage (.439) and eighth in rebounds per game (8.3), while Heck's .428 field goal percentage and 7.9 rebounds per game are both 10th.
 
Heck is also eighth in the PSAC in free throw percentage (.833), two spots behind Taylor (.849) as KU is atop the PSAC with a .762 free throw percentage.
 
In addition to averaging 10.8 points, Taylor's team-leading 3.9 assists per game have her at seventh in the PSAC. Her 1.6 assist/turnover ratio is also seventh.
 
Altomare is averaging 12.6 points and is atop the PSAC with an average of 2.9 3-pointers per contest. She is seventh with a .380 3-point percentage, as Kutztown leads the conference with a .356 team 3-point percentage.
 
Clarion (5-1, 8-4) is also shooting .356 from beyond the arch and will look to stop KU's 3-point attack as it ranks second in the PSAC with a .250 3-point percentage defense. The Golden Eagles are also top-three in the league in scoring offense (74.5), rebounding offense (43.5), rebounding margin (+6.3) and turnover average (14.5).
 
Clarion is tied for fourth in the PSAC West, one game behind tri-leaders Mercyhurst, Edinboro and Indiana (Pa.). After opening the season 2-4, the Golden Eagles come into Tuesday night riding a six-game winning streak after most recently defeating Pitt-Johnstown 83-61 on Friday. All six victories during the streak have come by at least 18 points.
 
Fans attending Tuesday night's game – don't forget about KU's "Bears Give Back" food drive campaign. Anyone who brings one non-perishable food donation to any of the basketball games will be given a ticket that can be redeemed for a free hotdog or bag of chips at the concession stand. Cash donations are also accepted.