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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Having secured its 10th home win this season against Lock Haven on Wednesday, the Kutztown University women's basketball team travels to Shippensburg University on Saturday, Jan. 27, in search of its first road win of the season in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. from Heiges Field House.
 
Derr matched a career-high in scoring vs. Lock Haven, going 3-of-7 from distance and making all eight of her free throw attempts, tallying 23 points for the second time in her last three contests. Karen Lapkiewicz (Southampton, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) made an impact in a variety of areas for head coach Janet Malouf, finishing with a stat line of eight points, six rebounds and a career-high seven assists. Alexis Smith (Dauphin, Pa./Central Dauphin) continues to produce for the Maroon and Gold off the bench, scoring 15 points on 3-of-8 shooting from deep and going 4-of-4 from the line.
 
The 73-62 win for the Golden Bears improves their record to 11-8 and 6-7 in the PSAC, which sits them in third place in the PSAC's Eastern Division. The 10 wins at home are the most for the program since the 2010-11 season with still four home games remaining in the regular season. The Maroon and Gold are still one half game ahead of fourth-place Millersville (6-8) and are now 1.5 games up on fifth-place Mansfield (5-9).
 
Looking at KU's matchup with Shippensburg, Kutztown will have to find a way to stop the Raiders' Ariel Jones, who is second in the PSAC in scoring with 20.9 points per game. Jones, a freshman, can fill it up in a variety of ways, leading the team in field goals made (116), three-pointers made (35) and free throws made (110), of which she is also the PSAC leader. Much like the Golden Bears, Shippensburg has a very young team with 11-of-13 underclassmen on its roster.
 
As a team, the Raiders (4-14, 3-9) have struggled this season, but have been playing better of late, winning three of their last five contests which includes an 83-64 victory over Bloomsburg on Wednesday night. Jones was terrific for SU in this game, totaling 32 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals in 34 minutes of play. The 83 points were a season-high for head coach Kristy Trn's squad, which moved into the top-6 in the Eastern Division with the win.
 
As the table sits currently, KU, the three-seed, would be slated for a rematch with Shippensburg, the six-seed, in the opening round of the PSAC playoffs.
 
Comparing the statistical figures, both offenses are very similar in their scoring, shooting percentages and rebounding numbers. However, an area where the Maroon and Gold can gain a competitive advantage in this tilt lies on the defensive end, especially in the area of turnovers. Shippensburg's -5.83 turnover margin is third-to-last in the PSAC while Kutztown holds a +2.47 turnover margin, which ranks sixth in the PSAC. In addition, Shippensburg has also only averaged 13.9 forced turnovers per game, 15th in the PSAC, while KU has averaged 22.2 forced turnovers per game, second in the PSAC. KU will need to take care of the basketball and bring its high-pressure defense on the road into a hostile environment to claim its first conference win away from Keystone Arena.
 
Live stats, live video and game notes will be available via the links above, which are also accessible on www.kubears.com.