KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- Emily Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Hubert Catholic) had five points, Makayla Bowman (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) registered a hat trick and Destanee Watkins' (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) 11 ground balls were the second-highest single-game total in program history as Kutztown University women's lacrosse extended its winning streak to three games with a 15-9 PSAC victory over Gannon on Saturday afternoon at Andre Reed Stadium.

Playing its Lax-4-Life game to raise awareness for adolescent and young adult suicide prevention, Kutztown (3-2 PSAC, 4-4) capitalized on another strong start.

Watkins and Gannon's Erin Rotondo traded goals in the opening 3:03, but Smith's first of four goals on the day on a free-position attempt at the 21-minute mark started a run of four straight for the Maroon and Gold.

Bowman also converted a free-position, Smith scored unassisted and Erin Vaughan Ware (Seaford, N.Y./MacArthur) finished off a feed from Jordan Klebe (Bishopville, Md./Stephen Decatur) to put the Golden Bears up 5-1 with 8:16 left in the first half. Kutztown never trailed in the game.

The Golden Knights (0-4, 2-6) closed the gap to 5-3 with 3:59 left in the first half on free-position goals from Rachel Tufts and Kayla Shields, but KU answered with a pair of goals from Cyla Cafferata (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem North) sandwiched around another from Smith over the next 2:46 to lead 8-3 at half.

Bowman added two more goals around a Watkins tally for an eight-goal Golden Bears lead early in the second half and Gannon would not get closer than four goals the rest of the way.

Kutztown owned an 18-8 advantage in draw controls and picked up 28 ground balls to the Golden Knights' 19. Watkins was at the forefront of those efforts with 11 ground balls and four draws. The junior from Emmaus came within three of Courtney O'Neill's school record 14, set in a game at Bloomsburg back on April 26, 2017.

Watkins flashed her skill and speed all over the field, Saturday. She also had two goals, an assist and two caused turnovers.

Lauren Schmidt (Hanover, Pa./South Western), fresh off scoring her 100th career point in KU's win over Shippensburg last Wednesday, collected a career- and game-high eight draw controls, tied for sixth most in a game in team history. The Hanover native added two goals, an assist and two caused turnovers.

Devon Fitzpatrick (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) provided three caused turnovers and two ground balls, and Smith had four goals, an assist, three ground balls and three draw controls.

Megan Vaughan (Prince Frederick, Md./Southern) turned aside six shots in the cage for KU to earn her second win in three starts.

Rotondo's game-high five goals fueled Gannon's offensive efforts, while Tufts had a pair. Goalie Erin Renwick made 11 saves.

Kutztown's three-game winning streak is its first since 2017. The Golden Bears won four in a row to open the 2017 season and can equal that run of success with a victory on Tuesday at Bloomsburg. Game time is 4 p.m.