KUTZTOWN, Pa. –
Casey Remolde (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) has been known primarily for her defensive prowess. The reigning Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Defensive Athlete of the Year turned it on offensively when her team needed it most Wednesday night as Remolde dropped a KU postseason record with 38 points in leading Kutztown to a 62-49 victory against Lock Haven in a PSAC quarterfinal round game at Keystone Arena.
Remolde scored the second-most points in a single game in program history, and the most since Amy Wahl's 39 back on Dec. 20, 1996. She shot 58.3% from the floor, going 14-for-24 overall, 4-of-7 from distance and 6-for-7 from the free-throw line. Remolde's 14 made field goals is the most in a game all-time for KU. She did all of that on offense, while adding six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal and played all but the final 0:02, when head coach
Janet Malouf quickly subbed her out while the outcome was decided to give the excited crowd a chance to show their support.
The Golden Bears improved to 26-5 overall and advanced to the semifinal round where it will take on the West Division's second seed, Gannon (22-6), this Saturday, March 5, at 3:30 p.m., at Keystone Arena.
Remolde entered the game averaging 10.4 points per game and hadn't scored in double figures since Feb. 9, which was seven games ago. Her highest point total this season was 24, accomplished in the second game of the year on Nov. 6, against Minot State in Montana. Her career-high before Wednesday was 26, which she netted her freshman year at Georgian Court on Dec. 14, 2019. She accounted for 61 percent of the Golden Bear total points.
Kutztown opened the game with a Remolde jumper 0:51 in to take the early lead, but the Bald Eagles scored the next six points and didn't trail the rest of the first half until a layup by
Naia Pulliam (Wilmington, Del./St. Elizabeth) that put KU back in front 26-25 with 1:52 left in the half. The teams then traded 3-pointers with
Annie Whalen's (Ivyland, Pa./Archbishop Wood) coming just before the halftime buzzer sounded, and the Maroon and Gold went into the locker room with some momentum, leading 29-28.
To its credit, Lock Haven did not let that shot deflate it and it continued to give Kutztown all it could handle in the third quarter. LHU scored four straight in the first 2:33 of the third quarter and led for all but 1:08 of the quarter. The teams were deadlocked at 39-39 heading into the final frame.
The Golden Bears, however, took control right out of the gate in the fourth, opening on a 7-0 run through the opening 2:08, and led 46-39. Lock Haven pulled to within five (50-45) with 4:41 to play, but Kutztown closed out the game on a 12-4 run with Remolde scoring all 12.
Abbey Hearn (Lewes, Del./Cape Henlopen) tallied nine points and nine rebounds and Whalen also finished with nine points, connecting on 3-of-5 3-pointers. Pulliam had four points and
Alexis Smith (Dauphin, Pa./Central Dauphin) contributed two.
