KU Game Notes | Live Stats | Live Video
KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's basketball team will hit the court for the first time in 10 days when it welcomes West Chester University to town for its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Division opener tomorrow, Saturday, Dec. 29, at 1 p.m. at Keystone Arena.
The Golden Bears (4-7 overall, 3-2 PSAC) split a two-day, two-game PSAC West Division swing last week in their final games before the holiday break. Since Dec. 2, KU has won three-of-four games, all in the conference, to push its way into a four-way tie for first place in the division with Lock Haven, Bloomsburg and Shippensburg.
The Kutztown offense has revved up over the last four games, averaging 68.5 points per game (ppg), and scoring at least 66 points in that span. Before that, KU had only scored 60 points or more just twice in its previous seven games.
The Maroon and Gold are led by sophomore
Rylee Derr (Lititz, Pa./Warwick), who is averaging 17.1 ppg, 11th-best in the PSAC, an increase of 3.5 ppg from last season. Derr has made 33 3-PTs this season, third in the PSAC, and has now recorded at least one three-pointer in her last 33 games played.
Junior
Karen Lapkiewicz (Southampton, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) is also averaging a career-best scoring mark, ranking second on the team at 9.5 ppg, 2.0 points more than her sophomore campaign. Classmate
Brianna Tarabocchia (Woodcliff Lake, N.J./Northern Valley Regional (Saint Peter's)) is averaging 7.5 rebounds per game, eighth in the PSAC. She is also third on KU at 8.2 ppg.
Alexis Smith (Dauphin, Pa./Central Dauphin) has a 6.7 ppg scoring clip and is sixth in the PSAC in 3-PT shooting percentage at 37.9-percent.
Taylor Thames (Colmar, Pa./North Penn) is fifth on KU in scoring at 6.6 ppg and averages 2.4 assists per game. Derr (33.3), Lapkiewicz (28.7) and Thames (28.6) are the top-three Golden Bears in minutes played each game.
Kutztown's defense ranks fifth in the PSAC and second in the East Division, allowing just 64.2 ppg.
Kalee Fuegel (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) is a big reason behind the defensive intensity, as the redshirt-senior ranks seventh in the PSAC with 2.2 steals per game.
The Maroon and Gold defense will have to keep their intensity high as the Golden Rams (4-8, 0-5) are averaging 69.8 ppg, seventh in the conference and third in the division. But after winning three straight games at the end of November, West Chester has lost six straight.
Returning to Keystone Arena for the first time in nearly a month, Kutztown will look to continue its momentum in division-play.
Live stats, video and game notes are available via the links above, which can also be accessed on www.kubears.com.
