KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Rylee Derr (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) scored 23 first-half points, shooting a perfect 7-of-7 from distance in the opening 20 minutes, to propel the Kutztown University women's basketball team over the Cheyney University Wolves, 85-69, on Wednesday evening.
 
KU outscored the Wolves, 25-11, in the first quarter alone, paced by four three-pointers from Derr in the first 10 minutes. Derr tied a school-record with seven three-point makes in the game and set a record for most threes made by a freshman, making all seven in the opening half. The Golden Bears led comfortably 43-23 after 20 minutes of action and never looked back from there as Derr equaled the Wolves' point total in the first two frames.
 
The hot shooting of Derr extended to the rest of her teammates as the Maroon and Gold shot 48 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from beyond the arc, knocking down 12-of-22 attempts in the game. Derr was joined in double-figures by fellow freshmen Alexis Smith (Dauphin, Pa./Central Dauphin) and Kaila Brown (Westminster, Md./Winters Mill), whom tallied 16 and 11 points, respectively, most of which came in the second half. Taylor Thames (Colmar, Pa./North Penn) continued her effective play since being inserted into the starting lineup, totaling 12 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the free-throw line.
 
Derr and Smith shot a combined 11-for-13 from downtown with both scoring in double digits for the seventh time this season. Brown's 11 points were a career-high for the freshman as the first-year class continues to produce for head coach Janet Malouf. The freshman class totaled 53 of KU's 85 total points tonight, increasing its season total to 507 points, which has accounted for 44.4 percent of the Kutztown's total scoring.
 
Jenna Widdicombe (Pottstown, Pa./Pope John Paul II (West Chester)) (8), Gabbi Wright (Elkins Park, Pa./Cheltenham) (5), Karen Lapkiewicz (Southampton, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) (2), Sierra Taylor (Williamstown, N.J./Camden Catholic) (2), Zoe Zerman (Jonestown, Pa./Northern Lebanon) (3) and Alex Leader (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) (1) complete the list of Maroon and Gold players in the scoring column as 11 different Golden Bears contributed in this tilt. Averaging 28.6 ppg, the Kutztown bench eclipsed this mark versus Cheyney, totaling 41 points, continuing to prove the versatility and depth of the team.
 
The win for KU increases its overall record to 10-7 and 5-6 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), improving its home record to 9-1 this season.
 
The Maroon and Gold go back on the road for their next competition, taking on PSAC East-leader East Stroudsburg University, on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 1 p.m.