KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- Rylee Derr (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) scored a game-high 19 points and
Naia Pulliam (Wilmington, Del./St. Elizabeth) banked 11 straight fourth-quarter points as the Kutztown University women's basketball team withstood a scrappy effort from Mansfield to pick up a 57-45 PSAC East victory on Senior Day Saturday afternoon at Keystone Arena.
The win, coupled with Bloomsburg's 64-54 loss to Shippensburg on its home court, puts the Golden Bears in position to claim their second PSAC East title in the last three seasons with a victory in either of its final two regular season games. Kutztown hosts Bloomsburg Wednesday night and travels to Shippensburg to close the regular season Saturday.
None of that was front of mind for head coach
Janet Malouf or her players during a difficult grind against the Mountaineers.
Sydney Reed hit two of her team's three 3-pointers in the first quarter as Mansfield (7-18, 6-15 PSAC) took a 13-10 lead after 10 minutes. Paige Whitfield opened the scoring in the second with her second triple of the afternoon, but Derr, KU's all-time leading scorer, responded with back-to-back threes, tying the score at 16.
A jumper from
Zara Zerman (Jonestown, Pa./Northern Lebanon) with 5:38 left in the half put the Bears (23-5, 16-3 PSAC) up 20-19 and though they'd never trail again, the Mountaineers were relentless in trying to stay in the game.
Kutztown made 8-of-16 shots, including 4-of-8 from downtown to outscore Mansfield 20-11 in the second quarter and carry a 30-24 lead to the half.
The offense dried up for both teams in the third as a combined 3-of-22 shooting effort (Mansfield 2-of-11, Kutztown 1-of-11) resulted in both sides scoring six points.
Pulliam missed her first shot of the fourth, but grabbed the rebound and put up back up and in for a 38-30 lead with 9:38 to play. It would be the first of five straight baskets for the freshman from Wilmington, Del., as she extended Kutztown's advantage to 47-37 near the midway point of the quarter.
The Golden Bears never allowed Mansfield to make it closer than a three-possession game the rest of the way and in doing so, earned their program record 16th conference win of the season. KU has seen its league win total increase every season since 2015-16 and has set a new record for PSAC victories in each of the last three campaigns (16 in 2021-22, 15 in 2019-20, 14 in 2018-19).
Playing in her 128th career game, Derr supplied 19 points on the strength of 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. She also had nine rebounds, narrowly missing her sixth double-double of the season.
Zerman had 13 points and hit three of her five attempts from deep, while Pulliam was 5-of-7 from the floor with all 11 of her points coming in the fourth.
Casey Remolde (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) played an excellent all-around game with 10 rebounds, seven points, six steals, five blocks and five assists.
Jasmine Hilton led Mansfield with 13 points, though she made just 4-of-14 shots. Reed finished with 11 and Whitfield had 10 boards and nine points for the visitors, who shot just 28.1% (16-of-57) for the game.
Kutztown connected at a 37.3% rate (19-of-51), with almost half of its shots coming from three, where it was 10-of-25, for an even better 40%.
Prior to the game, the women's basketball program honored seniors Derr,
Alexis Smith (Dauphin, Pa./Central Dauphin) and
Presley Berryhill (New Oxford, Pa./New Oxford).
The Golden Bears and Huskies will tip off from Keystone Arena Wednesday evening at 5:30 p.m. During halftime, KU athletics will recognize Dean's List students and it is also Faculty Appreciation Night.
