KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Kutztown women's basketball found itself trailing by two points after both the first and second quarters in a low-scoring first half, but responded out of the locker room on both ends of the floor, outscoring the Raiders 32-14 on its way to a 54-38 win Saturday afternoon at Keystone Arena in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Divisional game.
It was a nice, bounce back victory for the Golden Bears (7-8 overall, 5-4 PSAC), who had a four-game win streak snapped in their last game this past Wednesday.
Naia Pulliam (Wilmington, Del./St. Elizabeth) and
Zara Zerman (Jonestown, Pa./Northern Lebanon) both played 31 minutes, which was a team-high. They also both scored in double figures with Pulliam netting 17 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Zerman tallied 15 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Shippensburg led 16-14 after the opening quarter and then 24-22 at halftime. Both teams struggled to find a rhythm offensively, especially in the second quarter where they combined for 16 points, each scoring just eight.
But the second half was a different story for both teams, specifically the Maroon and Gold as KU doubled up the Raiders (2-13, 1-8) in the third quarter, outscoring them 18-9, and followed that up in the final frame by only allowing five points and scoring 14 themselves to finish off a double-digit conference victory in front of the home crowd.
Olivia Smelas (Jim Thorpe, Pa./Jim Thorpe) finished with eight points, four rebounds and a season-high four steals.
Shannon Remolde (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) contributed seven points, two rebounds and two steals.
Kutztown concludes its three-game homestand next Wednesday, Jan. 17, when it hosts West Chester at 5:30 p.m., in a matchup of two of the top-three teams in the PSAC East.
