KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Kutztown women's basketball stepped up in an important final week of the 2022-23 regular season this past week, winning its final three games in-a-row. KU clinched the three seed in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference tournament and will host the sixth seed, Lock Haven, Monday evening at 5:30 p.m., inside Keystone Arena.
 
Tickets are $10 for adults and senior citizens, and $5 for students 17 and under. PSAC students with a valid ID are free.
 
The Golden Bears (14-14 overall, 12-10 PSAC) jumped two spots in the East Division standings over the final seven days of the season by winning those games against Mansfield, at Bloomsburg and the finale vs. Shepherd to earn a home playoff game for the sixth season in-a-row and seventh time in the last eight seasons. The Maroon and Gold are also making their sixth straight appearance in the PSAC tournament and the ninth time out of the last 10 seasons.
 
The Bald Eagles (11-16, 9-13) are making their fourth straight trip to PSACs, winning four of their last six games, including an upset of the fifth seed, East Stroudsburg, last Wednesday, to punch their ticket. KU and LHU split the two games they played during the regular season with each team winning at home. Five Golden Bears scored in double figures in the 72-65 home victory for Kutztown back on Jan. 14. At the Haven on Feb. 11, KU fell behind by as many as 20 points in the third quarter, but fought back to tie the game late in the fourth. Lock Haven got a foul called with just 0:04 left and sunk one-of-two from the free-throw line to hold on for a 58-57 win, snapping a 12-game, KU win streak over LHU.
 
Kutztown and Lock Haven has been somewhat of a regular matchup in the postseason the last couple of years. Including this year, the two teams have met in PSACs three out of the last four tournaments. KU beat LHU 62-49 in the quarterfinal round last year. Casey Remolde (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) dropped a KU postseason record with 38 points in the victory, sending her team to the final four.
 
It's primed to be a low-scoring, defensive battle as both teams rank in the top-four in the PSAC in scoring defense. The Golden Bears are at the top, allowing just 56.1 points per game, whereas the Bald Eagles are fourth at 59.6 ppg. KU opponents are shooting a conference-low 35.6% from the floor. Remolde, Sydney Pierson (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) and Olivia Smelas (Jim Thorpe, Pa./Jim Thorpe) all rank inside the top-10 in the conference in blocked shots.
 
The Maroon and Gold offense is averaging 60.7 ppg, while Lock Haven is scoring at a 58.9 ppg clip. Naia Pulliam (Wilmington, Del./St. Elizabeth) leads Kutztown offensively with 11.1 ppg, followed closely by Abbey Hearn (Lewes, Del./Cape Henlopen) at 10.8 ppg. Annie Whalen (Ivyland, Pa./Archbishop Wood) has made a team-high 41 three-pointers and her 33.6% from beyond the arc ranks in the top-10 in the PSAC. Zara Zerman (Jonestown, Pa./Northern Lebanon) leads the conference, shooting 88.8% from the free-throw line.
 
The winner of Monday night's matchup will travel to the two seed, Shippensburg, for a quarterfinal round game on Wednesday, March 1, at 5:30 p.m.