INDIANA, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's lacrosse team led by two in the final 10 minutes, but No. 17 Indiana University (PA) avoided the upset by scoring five-in-a-row to survive and down the Golden Bears 15-12 Saturday in the first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) game of the season at IUP's Miller Stadium.
 
The Golden Bears were eight minutes away from their first win over a nationally-ranked team since the program re-established in 2008. Makayla Bowman (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) scored her fourth goal of the game with 8:01 to play, giving KU a 12-10 lead over the undefeated Crimson Hawks.
 
IUP won the next two draw controls to score on two of its next three shot attempts to tie the game at 12 with 6:41 to play.
 
With the momentum now in the home team's favor, Indiana (PA) went on to win all three on the ensuing draw controls, a stretch of five-straight to end the game, and maintained possession without allowing KU to register a shot for the final 8:01. It marked the second straight year KU fell to IUP by three.
 
The Golden Bears overcame a three-goal deficit late in the first half to put itself in contention down the stretch. For the game, Kutztown was efficient with its shot attempts, putting 22-of-25 on-goal, and converted on 17-of-19 clear attempts, but IUP's 20-9 advantage in draw controls prevented KU from coming back a final time.
 
Bowman led the way with four goals for KU, having now scored in all six games this season and a career stretch of eight consecutive games with a goal.
 
Destanee Watkins (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) notched her second hat-trick of the season with three goals on four shots. She also had a team-high four caused turnovers. Freshman Cyla Cafferata (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem North) had her first multi-goal game of the season with two goals off the bench Saturday to highlight KU's top scorers.
 
In the field, Allison McCormick (West Deptford, N.J./West Deptford) had a season-high seven groundballs.
 
For the Crimson Hawks, Adriana Greco had a game-high six goals with two assists on 13 shots. Ally Burrows scored four times as the duo combined for 10-of-15 IUP goals.
 
Kutztown returns home for its next two games, beginning on Tuesday, March 20, against West Chester University. Game time from Andre Reed Stadium is set for 7 p.m.