Audio Replay (KUR)

WEST CHESTER, Pa – The Kutztown University women's basketball team secured a First Round home playoff game in the upcoming Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament with a 72-59 road victory at West Chester in its final regular season contest on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Golden Bears (10-12 PSAC, 13-17) clinched the No. 3 seed in the PSAC East and will face Millersville in round one of the PSAC Tournament on Monday, Feb. 27, beginning at 7 p.m. in Keystone Arena. KU and Millersville split the 2016-17 season series with each team winning at home.
 
Kutztown build a game-high 20-point lead, 36-16, on an Alex Leader (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) free throw with 3:56 remaining in the first half and would lead 38-24 heading into the locker room.
 
West Chester (10-12, 10-16) did have a push in it as it would get as close as six, 40-34, when Mariah Traywick scored her seventh straight point to cap 10 unanswered for the Golden Rams with a layup less than three minute into the third quarter.
 
After trading baskets over the next few minutes, KU responded with a 13-0 run beginning  at the 4:15 mark of the third, capped by Jenna Altomare (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa./State College Area)'s 3-pointer with 1:46 left to give the Golden Bears a commanding 59-41 lead heading into the fourth.
 
Sierra Taylor (Williamstown, N.J./Camden Catholic)'s layup with 3:44 left in regulation helped set a game-high 26-point advantage over West Chester, 72-46. Despite the Golden Rams scoring the next 13 points, it was not enough to overcome the deficit.
 
Altomare ended her regular season career on a high note, notably going 6-for-9 from the 3-point range to match her season-high with a game-high 23 points for the Golden Bears. Only needing three triples on the afternoon to set the program's all-time record, she ended the contest with 195 for her career.  She also moved into third all-time with 68 3-pointers this season.
 
Fellow senior Kelsey Watson (Collegeville, Pa./Methacton) also moved up the program annals, scoring 14 points to move into sixth place all-time with 1,298 for her career.
 
With a game-high six assists, Taylor enters the postseason eight all-time in KU's single-season history with 129 dimes this season.
 
Freshman Gabbi Wright (Elkins Park, Pa./Cheltenham) came off the bench to score 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting in just 14 minutes.  
 
As a team, the Maroon and Gold shot 47.4 percent from the field, its second game in a row surpassing the 47-percent mark. Impressively, KU outshot West Chester from the 3-point line, going 7-for-14 (50 percent) compared to the Golden Rams' 2-for-9 (22.2).
 
The Golden Rams were led by Mariah Traywick - their sole double-digit scorer – going 5-for-9 for 11 total points on the afternoon.