PSAC Championship Central
KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University women's basketball team had faced just one defeat in 15 games at home this season, but KU suffered its second setback at Keystone Arena and first in the 2022 calendar year Saturday evening in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference semifinal round game, falling to Gannon 55-47.
The Golden Bears (26-6 overall) had their seven-game win streak snapped and lost their first game at home since Dec. 3, against IUP, finishing 14-2 at Keystone this year.
In the first semifinal, also on the Keystone Arena floor, California defeated Shepherd 78-49 and will now meet the Golden Knights for the third time this year, in the PSAC championship game tomorrow, Sunday, March 6, at 3 p.m., from Keystone.
Kutztown and Gannon were similar teams, both relying heavily on the 3-point shot and also both played aggressive defense. KU entered Saturday ranked second in the PSAC, giving up just 53.3 points per game, while Gannon was fifth at 57.7. The Golden Knights also were fourth-best in the conference, scoring 66.9 ppg. Kutztown (233) and Gannon (170) were first and sixth, respectively, in 3-pointers made.
The Golden Knights were firing on all cylinders right out of the gate, sinking 4-of-8 3-pointers in the first quarter, including their first three attempts. They went 6-for-13 from long distance in the opening half and took a 34-24 lead at halftime. The Golden Bears, on the other hand, had a tough time seeing the ball go into the basket in the first half, going 1-for-10 from three and 11-of-30 from the floor overall.
Coming out of the locker room, Kutztown began to find its rhythm.
Abbey Hearn (Lewes, Del./Cape Henlopen) and
Casey Remolde (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) connected on back-to-back possessions and combined to score the first 11 points of the third quarter for KU to pull to within one point, 36-35.
Annie Whalen (Ivyland, Pa./Archbishop Wood) then made a 3-pointer to tie the game, 38-38 with 2:11 remaining in the third. Gannon led 40-38 after three.
2:27 went by in the final quarter before a basket by either team. A Pulliam layup tied the score back up, 40-40. But the last 6:41 of the game, the Golden Knights got a 3-pointer from Emma Wright to take back the lead and never trailed the rest of the way.
Three Golden Bears finished in double figures in scoring, led by 15 from Remolde, who went 6-for-9 from the floor and added five rebounds.
Naia Pulliam (Wilmington, Del./St. Elizabeth) tallied 11 points and
Rylee Derr (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. Hearn had six points, Whalen recorded three and
Alexis Smith (Dauphin, Pa./Central Dauphin) added two.
Kutztown will now await its fate in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. The selection show is scheduled for Sunday night, beginning at 10 p.m. The eight-team, Atlantic Region will be hosted at the No. 1 seed, beginning next Friday, March 11.
