GLENVILLE, W.Va. – The Kutztown University women's basketball team had all five starters score in double figures, but KU's magical season came to a close Friday afternoon in a 78-68 defeat to Charleston (W.Va.) in an NCAA First Round game at the Waco Center at Glenville State University.
The Golden Bears finished their 2021-22 campaign at 26-7 overall, earning a new program record for wins in a season. They also qualified for just their second NCAA Tournament in program history and first since 1996.
Junior All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Second Teamer,
Casey Remolde (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) continued to shine on both ends of the court. She finished with a team-high 17 points (7-for-13 shooting) and added six rebounds, three assists, one block and tied a career and season-high with six steals. All-PSAC First Teamer, graduate student
Rylee Derr (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) tallied 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals and finished her decorated career with 1,820 points, a program scoring record.
Sophomore PSAC Rookie of the Year,
Abbey Hearn (Lewes, Del./Cape Henlopen) totaled 12 points and three rebounds. Senior
Alexis Smith (Dauphin, Pa./Central Dauphin) and sophomore
Zara Zerman (Jonestown, Pa./Northern Lebanon) each recorded 11 points. Smith also contributed three rebounds and four steals and Zerman added three assists to go over the century mark on the season (101).
The Maroon and Gold had a slower start to the game as the rims weren't kind to their shooters in the opening 10 minutes. Remolde collected a steal and an ensuing layup on the other end of the court to give her team a 2-0 lead 1:23 in. But then KU went cold. The Golden Eagles (22-8 overall) scored the next eight points and finished the quarter on a 20-5 run to be up 20-7 after one. Kutztown was 3-for-16 from the floor in the first stanza and just could not get into any rhythm offensively.
The Golden Bears found their scoring punch in the second quarter, scoring 20 points, but they could never make a dent in their deficit as Charleston also scored 20 points and kept its 13-point advantage going at halftime, ahead 40-27. It was more of the same in the third quarter as each team traded baskets and netted 21 points apiece. KU actually took a 48-31 deficit with 8:08 left in the third and cut it down to just four points, 51-47, with 3:03 to go that period. Kutztown scored 11 straight during that span with four points from Hearn, three by Derr and two each from Remolde and Zerman.
But in the blink of an eye the Golden Eagles were back in front by double digits, scoring 10 of the last 11 points of the third quarter to lead 61-48 heading into the fourth. Tired legs were evident after a vailiant comeback effort, as Kutztown never got closer than 12 until the final minute of play when the game was already decided.
Freshman
Naia Pulliam (Wilmington, Del./St. Elizabeth) rounded out the KU scoring with three points.
Kutztown is expected to have a majority of its roster back next season, including three starters and its first three-four contributors off the bench. Derr, Smith and
Presley Berryhill (New Oxford, Pa./New Oxford) all played their final games in Maroon and Gold.
