WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. -- Kutztown made Division I Monmouth sweat Monday night, leading for much of the first 27 minutes. The Hawks would prevail, however, overcoming a game-high 20 points from Rylee Derr (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) and outscoring the Golden Bears 31-15 in the final 13 minutes to capture a 74-60 exhibition victory at the OceanFirst Bank Center.

Derr, the Bears' all-time leader in 3-pointers made with 256, connected on her first of the night on Kutztown's opening possession and Casey Remolde (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) scored seven straight points, helping the visitors to an 11-8 lead less than five minutes in.

Monmouth took a 15-13 lead on a pair of Lucy Thomas free throws with 3:08 to go in the opening quarter, but the rest of the period belonged to the Maroon and Gold. A trey by Alexis Smith (Dauphin, Pa./Central Dauphin) put KU back in front and newcomer Abbey Hearn (Lewes, Del./Cape Henlopen) netted the final six points of the quarter for a 23-16 advantage.

Kutztown shot a strong 47.4% (9-of-19) and owned the glass 14-9 in the opening quarter, but the Hawks tightened up defensively in the second. They held the Bears to eight points on 1-of-13 shooting and forced seven turnovers to close within 31-29 at the half. Derr and Remolde paced KU with 10 points apiece, while Sydney Pierson (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) led the team with five rebounds.

The two teams swapped the lead four times in the third quarter, as Kutztown bounced back to shoot 40% (4-of-10) in the frame. Turnovers continued to hinder the Bears, however, as they committed eight more in the quarter and 32 in the game.

Annie Whalen (Ivyland, Pa./Archbishop Wood) broke a 43-all tie by sinking a pair of free throws with 3:27 remaining in the third, but Monmouth used points from four different players to close the period on a 9-2 run and take a 52-47 lead to the fourth.

Naia Pulliam's (Wilmington, Del./St. Elizabeth) jumper in the paint to start the final quarter cut the Hawk edge back to three, but it was the closest the Golden Bears would get. Monmouth rolled its late third-quarter momentum over to the fourth, scoring nine of the first 13 points to take a 61-51 lead with 6:22 to go, the first double-digit lead for either team.

The Golden Bears battled to the end, but couldn't find their offensive touch late. They got back within eight on a Pulliam layup with 5:44 to go, but were just 2-of-6 with six turnovers the rest of the way.

Derr produced a game-high 20 points while logging a game-high 34 minutes. The senior from Lititz shot 6-of-17, including 4-of-11 from downtown. She added six rebounds and four assists. Hearn and Remolde finished with 10 points.

Kutztown shot 35.7% (20-of-56) overall and made seven 3-pointers.

Monmouth controlled the interior, outscoring KU 44-20 in the paint and took advantage of the Bears' giveaways to gap the visitors 31-6 in points off turnovers and 30-5 in fast break points.

The Hawks put three players in double figures, led by Stella Clark's 18 points. Ariana Vanderhoop had 16 on 6-of-7 shooting and Belle Kranbuhl finished with 11. Clark dished out a game-high six assists, while Jennifer Louro led all players with five steals.

Kutztown will open its 50-year anniversary season Friday, Nov. 5, against Mary at the D2CCA Tipoff Classic at the Trailhead in Billings, Montana.