LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – In a game in which neither team lead by more than five points, it took overtime for Lock Haven to  knock off the Kutztown University women's basketball team, 64-61, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division matchup on Friday night at Thomas Field House.  
 
KU (1-7 PSAC, 4-12) took the first five-point lead of the evening when Alex Heck (Willow Grove, Pa./Archbishop Wood (Philadelphia U.)) capped a 12-4 run with a jumper at the 2:16 mark of the fourth quarter to make the score 53-48. That would be the final field goal for the Golden Bears until there were two seconds remaining in overtime though, and Lock Haven would take advantage by closing regulation with six of the final seven points.
 
LHU (3-5, 6-6) chipped away with two free throws on the ensuing trip down the court and got within one, 53-52, with two more throws with just 17 seconds remaining. Kara Funk (Dover, Pa./Dover) reestablished a two-point lead by making 1-of-2 at the charity stripe, but the Bald Eagles called a timeout to set up a play, which it executed to tie the game on a Madison McHale jumper with just 10 seconds to go. 
 
Kutztown would still have an opportunity to win the game in regulation, but a potential buzzer would not fall and the game would head to overtime.
 
With the momentum in Lock Haven's favor heading into the extra period, KU regrouped well to score the first four points, going 4-of-6 at the charity stripe on its first three offensive possessions to take a 58-54 lead with 3:44 left. That would be the Maroon and Gold's final point until Jenna Altomare (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa./State College Area) extended her school-record for consecutive games with a 3-pointer to 40 just two seconds before the buzzer and at that point it was too late.
 
LHU scored the next nine points, going 3-of-4 from the foul line before Lysa Mealing gave the game its 14th and final lead change of the night on a jumper that made the score 59-58 with 48 seconds remaining.
 
Kutztown still had its chances to tie or take the lead on the next three possessions as Lock Haven converted just two of its next four free throws, but the Maroon and Gold missed three straight attempts. The Bald Eagles finally put the game away for good when two Rileigh Devine free throws put LHU up 63-58 with just 12 seconds showing.
 
In a season of near misses for KU, the Golden Bears fall to 1-4 in overtime games.
 
Kelsey Watson (Collegeville, Pa./Methacton) was a force down low, falling one board short of a 20-rebound performance with a new career-high 19 to move into eighth place in program history with 694 for her career. She also added three blocks to move into a tie for seventh in program history with 86 for her career and scored 11 points for her third double-double of the season.
 
With 14 points, Altomare was the only other player to score in double figures for Kutztown. Heck contributed nine points and eight rebounds, and Sierra Taylor (Williamstown, N.J./Camden Catholic) had nine points and career-highs of six rebounds and three steals.
 
As a team, KU shot just 21.5 percent (17-79), including going 1-15 (6.7 percent) from 3-point range, but the Golden Bears were efficient at the foul line as they made 26-35 (74.3 percent). KU also won the turnover battle, 18-8, which led to a 20-4 edge in points off turnovers.
 
Lock Haven struggled shooting as well, making 23-of-69 from the field (33.3 percent) and 2-of-20 from beyond the arch (10.0 percent). Kayla Henderson led the Bald Eagles with 19 points, while Mealing went toe-to-toe with Watson with 12 points and 18 rebounds of her own.
 
Kutztown returns to Keystone Arena on Monday, Jan. 9 to host Cheyney at 5:30 p.m.