KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The 2018-19 Kutztown University women's basketball season will go down in the record books. No prior team in program history had made it further in the postseason, but the magical run came to an end Sunday afternoon in a 72-57 defeat to No. 14 Indiana (PA) in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) championship game at Keystone Arena.
 
The Golden Bears (19-12 overall) finished their campaign as PSAC East co-champions, their first division championship since 1996, and also earned the program's first ever trip to the conference finals.
 
After Kutztown took down nationally-ranked (No. 21) California (PA) in the semifinals Saturday, it was asked to defeat another ranked opponent less than 24 hours later in the final.
 
Tough task.
 
The Maroon and Gold were up to the challenge though, and did not back down from the big stage or from the Crimson Hawks (26-3).
 
IUP just had a long run in it that spanned two quarters, and then never allowed Kutztown to get back to within single digits from late in the third quarter on to hold on for the championship.
 
Kutztown jumped right out of the gate and had just the start it wanted, racing out to a 22-9 lead after the opening quarter. It went up by as much as 14 points, 27-13, with 7:18 left in the second quarter. But then the Crimson Hawks made a game-changing run.
 
IUP scored the game's next 13 points and 16 of the final 21 of the quarter to cut the KU advantage to 32-29 at halftime.
 
The Golden Bears shot 50-percent (11-for-22) from the floor and 41-percent (5-of-12) from three, while holding the Crimson Hawks to 40-percent (9-of-22) from the field and 25-percent (2-for-8) from three to hold a lead for the entirety of the first 20 minutes of the game.
 
IUP was the hot team to start the second half as it scored the first 10 points out of the locker rooms to take its first lead of the game. It went ahead by as many as 16 points (52-36) and led 52-39 heading into the final quarter. Unfortunately, KU was not able to get any closer than 11 (52-41) the remainder of the contest.
 
All-PSAC Second Team member Karen Lapkiewicz (Southampton, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) tallied 15 points and five rebounds, and was 3-for-4 from long range. Brianna Tarabocchia (Woodcliff Lake, N.J./Northern Valley Regional (Saint Peter's)) recorded 12 points and five rebounds as the lone Golden Bears in double-figures. Rylee Derr (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) contributed eight points, seven rebounds and three assists. Senior Taylor Thames (Colmar, Pa./North Penn) posted nine points, four rebounds and three assists in her final game in Maroon and Gold. Gabbi Wright (Elkins Park, Pa./Cheltenham) had seven points and Zoe Zerman (Jonestown, Pa./Northern Lebanon) chipped in five for KU. Senior Kalee Fuegel (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) had one point, one rebound, one assist and three steals.
 
Kutztown was able to give its two seniors Thames and Fuegel a positive farewell as when the duo was subbed out with less than a minute left in the game, the Kutztown faithful applauded and showed their support for great careers and a remarkable season for the team.
 
Kutztown expects to bring back the vast majority of this roster as it will look to get back to the title game in 2019-20.