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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's basketball team, which equaled its win total from last season with a win on Saturday over Mansfield, welcomes the Shippensburg University Raiders for a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tilt on Monday evening, Feb. 12. Tip-off from Keystone Arena is slated for 5:30 p.m.
 
In all of the commonly convoluted playoff scenarios, there are four words which are always music to a team's ears. "Win and you're in." This is the case for KU (8-9, 13-10 PSAC) in facing Shippensburg on Monday night as a victory will punch its ticket for its second consecutive berth in the PSAC playoffs and eighth in the last 10 years under head coach Janet Malouf.
 
Trailing 14-4 at the end of the first quarter at Mansfield on Saturday, the Golden Bears showed the sense of urgency that good teams develop towards the end of the season, outscoring MU 50-24 in the final 30 minutes to secure a 54-38 win. The 38 points given up by Kutztown was its lowest of the season as Mansfield shot just 34.1 percent from the floor and 1-of-16 from distance. The outstanding defensive effort had a lot to do with MU's struggles on the offensive end as the Maroon and Gold forced 30 Mountaineer turnovers, their fourth time this season forcing 30-plus miscues. 
 
Rylee Derr (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) scored a game-high 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the free-throw line and extended her made three-pointer streak to 15 consecutive games. As a team, KU also labored offensively, shooting 31.4 percent from the field and 17.6 percent from beyond the arc, but was able to get to the free throw line 30 times, making 19-of-30 attempts (63.3%). The 30 attempts were its second most of the season, eclipsed only by its 38 attempts in an overtime win over Georgian Court on Dec. 16.
 
Kutztown will look to secure the season-sweep against Shippensburg, having already defeated the Raiders at Heiges Field House, 67-56, on Jan. 27. If the Golden Bears can win on Monday night, it will be their first time winning both regular season games versus the Raiders since 2010-11.
 
A big part of that will be finding an answer for freshman phenom Ariel Jones, whose 21.1 ppg ranks first in the PSAC. In the two sides' last matchup, Karen Lapkiewicz (Southampton, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) and Kalee Fuegel (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) locked down Jones, allowing her just one made field goal in the first three quarters. Jones finished the game with 16 points, but was frustrated by KU's pressure defense, going 4-of-15 from the field and 1-of-5 from deep while committing three turnovers.
 
Between Jones and Kutztown's 'Fab Four' freshmen, PSAC newcomers will have a lot to do with deciding this result. Derr, who leads the PSAC with 2.6 three-pointers made per game, sits seventh in the KU record book and first among NCAA Division-II freshman with 62 made three-pointers this season with still five regular season games to go. Derr has headlined an excellent group of first-years for Coach Malouf and her staff, getting important contributions from her along with Alexis Smith (Dauphin, Pa./Central Dauphin), Kaila Brown (Westminster, Md./Winters Mill) and Zoe Zerman (Jonestown, Pa./Northern Lebanon). In total, the freshman class has scored a combined 677 points this season, an average of 29.4 ppg, accounting for 44.4 percent of the team's overall scoring.
 
Sporting a 10-2 home record, the game plan for the Golden Bears will look very similar to what was successful in their road win over Shippensburg. KU started well, racing out to a 20-12 advantage after the first quarter, and kept its foot on the gas pedal for the full 40 minutes, leading for the entirety of the game. Finishing games has been a calling card for this group whom has an unblemished 9-0 record with a halftime lead, 11-0 record when leading with five minutes left and 13-0 mark when ahead with two minutes remaining. Score early, stop Jones and finish strong.
 
If the Maroon and Gold can follow that recipe, they will notch their 11th home win, their most since 2008-09, and 14th overall win, their most since 2012-13, but, most importantly, they will lock up a postseason berth.  
 
Live stats, live video and game notes will be available via the links above, which are also accessible on www.kubears.com.