Live Stats at Penn State (Nov. 1, 2019)

KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- The defending Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division champion Kutztown University women's basketball team gets its 2019-20 season underway with a pair of exhibition games against NCAA Division I competition this weekend. The Golden Bears travel to Penn State tonight, before turning around to face Iona on the road Saturday.

Head coach Janet Malouf, who enters her 26th season at KU, has continually challenged her team ahead of the regular season over the last six seasons. Kutztown has played in nine exhibition games against DI opponents since 2013-14 and Friday's opener at Penn State marks the second straight campaign in which the Maroon and Gold have faced a team from the Big Ten (Maryland, 2018).

The Golden Bears return three starters and a deep bench that saw plenty of meaningful minutes during Kutztown's run to a division title and its first-ever appearance in the PSAC championship game. Kutztown finished with a 19-12 record (14-6 PSAC East) last season.

Junior guard Rylee Derr (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) averaged career-highs of 17.0 points and 6.8 rebounds per game last season, and ranked 11th in the PSAC in scoring to lead the Maroon and Gold. The Lititz native poured in a career-high 32 points, while making a program single-game record nine 3-pointers in a win over East Stroudsburg last January and was honored as an All-PSAC East First Team player at season's end --her second all-conference honor in as many seasons.

Senior Karen Lapkiewicz (Southampton, Pa./Saint Basil Academy), another of Malouf's talented guards, landed on the All-PSAC East Second Team after scoring 11.4 points per game and shooting 38.9% from 3-point range (42-of-108). Dynamic guard/forward combo Brianna Tarabocchia (Woodcliff Lake, N.J./Northern Valley Regional) (8.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg) is also a returning starter. Tarabocchia led all Kutztown players with at least 100 field goal attempts in proficiency at 46.8% (88-of-188), while ranking as the team's third-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder a season ago.

Forward Gabbi Wright (Elkins Park, Pa./Cheltenham) (6.7 ppg) is joined by a trio of guards in Zoe Zerman (Jonestown, Pa./Northern Lebanon) (6.7 ppg, 1.8 apg), Alexis Smith (Dauphin, Pa./Central Dauphin) (6.0 ppg) and Kaylan Jackson (Germantown, Md./Clarksburg) (2.8 ppg) who made significant contributions off the bench last season. Zerman played in all 31 games, with Smith appearing in 27 and Jackson 23.

This weekend's games will also provide Malouf and assistant coach Justin Hallman a chance to see how their newcomers fare against heightened competition and how they mesh with last year's returnees. There were plenty of positives to take away from last week's home scrimmage, but matchups with the Lady Lions and Gaels will be beneficial when physical PSAC East contests roll around.

Penn State opens a new era against the Golden Bears Friday evening at the Bryce Jordan Center, as head coach Carolyn Kieger mades her debut. Kieger spent the last five seasons as the head coach at Marquette. The Lady Lions return three of their top five scorers from last year's 12-18 team, led by Siyeh Frazier, who averaged 9.9 points per game. Tip-off on Friday is set for 6 p.m.

Iona went 5-26 last season, but upset Siena, 75-64, in the 7-10 first-round matchup at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship tournament. The Gaels then dropped a close 54-46 battle with No. 2 seed Rider in the quarterfinals. Head coach Billi Chambers is embarking on her sixth season with Iona and returns her entire 2018-19 starting lineup. Game time on Saturday from the Hynes Center in New Rochelle, New York, is set for 5:30 p.m.