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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's basketball team welcomes the Chestnut Hill College Griffins on the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 15, for its home-opener at 5:30 p.m. on the Keystone Arena hardwood.
Participating in the Wolf's Bus Lines Classic at Shippensburg on Nov. 10-11, KU split its first two games of the 2017-18 season, falling to Bowie State on Friday, 53-35, but bouncing back on Saturday to claim a down-to-the-wire victory against Wheeling Jesuit, 59-55. In each contest, a freshman led the way in the scoring department, with
Alexis Smith (Dauphin, Pa./Central Dauphin) posting a team-high seven points against BSU and
Rylee Derr (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) totaling 19 points in the win over WJU.
Derr, who scored 21 points in an exhibition against Division-I UMass, continues to play confidently and poised in her first season donning the Maroon and Gold. Trailing by one with 2:24 left in the game against Wheeling Jesuit, Derr scored six points in a 45-second span to seal the victory for the Golden Bears. Knocking down four treys and adding eight rebounds in the contest, Derr earned an All-Tournament Team selection for her efforts.
As a team, Kutztown has been plagued by poor shooting in its first two games, shooting 29.1 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from beyond the arc, averaging just 47 points per game. However, the KU defense has proven up to the task early in the season, limiting its opponents to a 33.3 field goal percentage and 23.7 percent shooting from deep, countering the slow offensive start. Holding the opposition to 54 points per game, the defensive unit has improved by nearly 15 points per game from a year ago, when it surrendered 68.8 points per game.
The Griffins come into this tilt with an unblemished 2-0 record following a sweep of Molloy College and Queen's College on Nov. 11-12 as part of the Jefferson Challenge in Philadelphia. CHC used a 23-point fourth quarter to finish off Molloy in its opening game, winning by a 55-46 final score. In similar fashion, Chestnut Hill ripped off 28 points in the third quarter against Queen's to put that game out of reach, claiming an 84-67 victory.
A potent Griffin offense, which is averaging 69.5 points per game in its first two contests, is led by double-double machine, Jaeda Wildgoose, who has amassed 34 points and 25 boards this season. Facilitating the offense is veteran-guard Mary Trossi, whose 13 assists ranks first in the Central Athletic Collegiate Conference (CACC). Sharpshooter Vicky Tumasz completes an outstanding trio for Chestnut Hill, averaging a CACC-high 3.5 made three-pointers per game.
The Maroon and Gold will have to find its shooting stroke while continuing its strong defensive play against a high-powered, multi-faceted Chestnut Hill attack. Another key for KU will be improvement in the play of reigning-PSAC East Freshman of the Year
Sierra Taylor (Williamstown, N.J./Camden Catholic), whom has gotten off to a cold start in her first two games after averaging 10.7 ppg and 4.1 apg last season.
