KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Third-seeded Kutztown women's basketball had a double-figure lead late into the third quarter, but watched as the advantage dropped to just one, twice, late in the fourth. An experienced postseason team that KU is, regrouped and finished off a 68-60 win over sixth-seeded Lock Haven Monday night in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference first round game inside Keystone Arena.
The Golden Bears (15-14 overall), who played in last year's PSAC final four and NCAA Tournament, advance to the PSAC Quarterfinal round for the 11th time under head coach
Janet Malouf and the 12th time in program history. It is the fourth win in-a-row as KU won its final three games of the regular season.
Kutztown took control of the game in the second quarter and went up by double digits, outscoring Lock Haven 20-13 to take a 37-26 advantage at the intermission. But the Bald Eagles slowly began to chip away at their deficit and left the third quarter by outscoring KU 16-12 and trailed 49-42. LHU pulled to within just one (53-52) with 5:08 left to play. The teams traded baskets on back-to-back possessions before
Zara Zerman (Jonestown, Pa./Northern Lebanon) drained a three-pointer with 3:33 to go to push her team's lead to 58-54.
The Bald Eagles pulled to within 60-57 with 0:46 to go, but traveled, giving the ball back to KU. Zerman then connected on 2-of-2 from the free-throw line,
Shannon Remolde (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) recorded her sixth steal and her sister
Casey Remolde (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) sank 2-for-2 from the charity stripe to put KU up seven. A Lock Haven missed jumper on the other end led to a rebound by
Naia Pulliam (Wilmington, Del./St. Elizabeth) and the sophomore also went 2-for-2 from the line to seal the game.
Casey Remolde (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) finished with a team-high 14 points and was one rebound shy of her second straight double-double, grabbing nine rebounds.
Abbey Hearn (Lewes, Del./Cape Henlopen) had 13 points, three bounds and three blocks. Pulliam and Zerman both recorded 10 points.
Bella Arcuri (Fallsington, Pa./Pennsbury) tallied six points and
Shannon Remolde (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Basil Academy),
Sydney Pierson (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) and
Annie Whalen (Ivyland, Pa./Archbishop Wood) all contributed five points to round out the scoring for KU.
Kutztown will now meet the two seed, Shippensburg, in a rubber match, in the quarterfinal round on Wednesday night, March 1, at 5:30 p.m., inside Heiges Field House. The teams split their two regular season games with each team winning at home.
