KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Kutztown women's basketball was looking for a spark. KU got it Wednesday night in a complete game effort, taking care of first-place Shippensburg, 74-47, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division game inside Keystone Arena.
 
The victory for the Golden Bears (11-12 overall, 9-8 PSAC) snaps a two-game losing streak, amasses a little revenge over the Raiders (18-5, 13-4), who defeated Kutztown 68-62 in overtime back on Jan. 21, and it also gives the Maroon and Gold some much needed positive momentum heading into the home stretch of the season with five games left, as they fight for a postseason berth and positioning near the top of the conference.
 
Naia Pulliam (Wilmington, Del./St. Elizabeth) had a breakout game. The sophomore netted a career-high 31 points and made 12-out-of-16 (75%) from the floor, tied for the fourth-most field goals in a game in program history. She also added seven rebounds and four assists in a team-high 34 minutes. Abbey Hearn (Lewes, Del./Cape Henlopen) also finished in double figures in scoring with 15 points.
 
KU did a good job defensively in the first half, holding Shippensburg to just 19 points on 17.9% (5-for-28) shooting from the floor, including holding PSAC-leading scorer, Ariel Jones to just three points on 1-of-12 shooting from the floor. She came in averaging 25.5 points per game and is the PSAC's all-time leading scorer. Jones finished with 13 points on 3-of-15 shooting from the floor.
 
It was a low-scoring affair throughout much of the contest. KU held a 10-6 lead after the opening quarter and then outscored Shippensburg 27-13 in the second quarter to go ahead 37-19 at halftime and seemingly took the game into control.
 
Annie Whalen (Ivyland, Pa./Archbishop Wood) recorded nine points and five assists as nine different Golden Bears found the score column.
 
Kutztown hits the road for its next two contests, beginning this Saturday, Feb. 11, when it travels to take on Lock Haven at 1 p.m.

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