KUTZTOWN, Pa. — The Kutztown University women's basketball team was defeated on the road by the No. 15 Edinboro University Fighting Scots, 86-65, in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) action.
A strong emphasis on getting to the rim for the Fighting Scots staked them to a 24-14 lead after the first ten minutes, scoring 14 points in the paint in the first frame. Both sides then traded baskets to the half time break, but Edinboro outscored Kutztown 48-37 in the final two quarters to seal the victory in a game in which it never trailed.
The rebounding battle proved a tell-tale stat in this contest, as Edinboro won the war on the glass, grabbing 46 boards compared to KU's 28. The offensive end showed this chasm most significantly with the Fighting Scots nabbing 16 offensive rebounds and scoring 15 second-chance points compared to the Golden Bears' four and three, respectively.
Jontay Walton and Ciara Rosten maintained their reputation as one of the most formidable tandems in the PSAC in this tilt, combining for 31 points and 13 rebounds to pace the Fighting Scot offense. As a team, Edinboro shot the ball at a blistering clip on the afternoon, shooting 40.3 percent from the field, 40.9 percent from deep and 88.7 percent from the charity stripe.
Rylee Derr (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) secured her 11th game this season with a double-digit point output, pouring in 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting to lead the Golden Bears. Taylor Thames (Colmar, Pa./North Penn) added 13 points, going 6-of-11 from the field, joining Derr to make up KU's duo in double figures. Freshmen Zoe Zerman (Jonestown, Pa./Northern Lebanon) and Kaila Brown (Westminster, Md./Winters Mill) continued to provide a spark off the bench for the Maroon and Gold, tallying nine and seven points, respectively, for a reserve unit which totaled 27-of-65 KU points.
The loss for Kutztown drops its overall mark to 8-6 and 3-5 in PSAC play while Edinboro improves its record to 11-1 and 6-1 in the PSAC.
Winless on the road thus far this season, the Maroon and Gold return home for two consecutive games at Keystone Arena, taking on Shippensburg and Mansfield in PSAC action on the evenings of Monday, Jan. 8 and Wednesday, Jan. 10.
