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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's basketball team will honor five members of its program before its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Division regular season finale against Shippensburg University on Saturday, Feb. 29, at 1 p.m., at Keystone Arena.
 
The Golden Bears (17-10 overall, 14-7 PSAC) class of 2020 includes Kaylan Jackson (Germantown, Md./Clarksburg), Gabbi Wright (Elkins Park, Pa./Cheltenham), Alex Leader (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin), Brianna Tarabocchia (Woodcliff Lake, N.J./Northern Valley Regional) and Karen Lapkiewicz (Southampton, Pa./Saint Basil Academy). This quintet has left quite the mark on the program. As juniors last year, they led their team to their first division championship since 1996, and also earned the program's first ever trip to the conference finals.
 
While there will be some emotions for the ceremony prior to tip-off, Kutztown knows it needs to be focused on its home floor vs. the division champs and top-seed Raiders (20-7, 17-4), with playoff seeding in next week's PSAC Tournament still to be determined. The top two seeds receive first round byes and then host a quarterfinal round game, while the three and four seeds host first round games.
 
The Maroon and Gold could fall into one of three positions from the two seed to the four seed, depending on how results play out Saturday. KU and East Stroudsburg (18-9, 14-7) have identical conference records and sit in a tie for second place, but the Warriors hold the tie breaker and would earn the two seed if the teams remained in a tie. ESU defeated KU twice this season and hosts West Chester Saturday.
 
Shepherd (19-8, 13-8) is currently fourth in the East. The Rams and Golden Bears split their two games this year. If Shepherd, KU and ESU wind up in a three-way tie, ESU is two, Shepherd is three and KU is four. Shepherd would hold the tiebreaker over Kutztown due to its win over Shippensburg. The Rams host Mansfield Saturday.
 
Jackson is a four-year member of the Golden Bears. She has played in 62 games at guard during her career at KU. Jackson has racked up 140 career points, grabbed 71 rebounds and is shooting 34.5% from three in her career.
 
In the classroom, Jackson is a multi-year PSAC Scholar-Athlete and a Dean's List student, along with receiving a D2ADA Academic Achievement award. Jackson will graduate with a degree in business administration, with a concentration in marketing.
 
Wright is a four-year member of the Golden Bears. She has played in 101 career games, starting 44. For her career, Wright has 628 points, 324 rebounds, and her 80 blocks ranks 10th all-time in program history.
 
Wright will graduate with a degree in studio art.
 
Leader is a four-year member of the Golden Bears. She has appeared in 41 games throughout her career.
 
Alex is a SAAC representative of the women's basketball team. In the classroom, she is a multi-year PSAC Scholar-Athlete and a Dean's List student, along with receiving a D2ADA Academic Achievement award.
 
Leader will graduate with a degree in business administration with a concentration in management.
 
Tarabocchia is a two-year member of the Golden Bears after transferring from Saint Peter's. She has started in 49 of 56 games at KU, racking up 431 points, 260 rebounds, 34 blocks and 72 steals.
 
In the classroom, Tarabocchia is a PSAC Scholar-Athlete and a Dean's List student. Tarabocchia will graduate with a degree in business administration with a concentration in management.
 
Lapkiewicz is a four-year member of the Golden Bears and a team captain. She has played in 113 career games, making 99 starts, and was named to the All-PSAC East Second Team last season. She has accumulated 910 points, 405 rebounds and 103 steals over her four years.
 
Lapkiewicz is a PSAC Scholar-Athlete and is a SAAC representative of the women's basketball team. Lapkiewicz will graduate with a degree in business administration with a concentration in finance.
 
Lock Haven is locked in as the fifth seed and Bloomsburg is sixth to round out the East playoff teams.