BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Kutztown women's basketball team responded nicely after dropping its last contest earlier in the week, starting fast and finishing strong in taking down Bloomsburg 71-42 Saturday afternoon in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division game at Nelson Fieldhouse.
The Golden Bears (8-9 overall, 6-5 PSAC) won their fourth straight road game. Five finished in double figures in scoring, led by a career-best and team-high 17 points from sophomore
Leila Hurley (Jim Thorpe, Pa./Jim Thorpe). She was 5-for-7 from the floor, 3-of-5 from long range and 4-for-5 from the free-throw line.
Zara Zerman (Jonestown, Pa./Northern Lebanon) added 15 points, two assists and two steals.
Sydney Pierson (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) recorded her first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Both
Olivia Smelas (Jim Thorpe, Pa./Jim Thorpe) and
Naia Pulliam (Wilmington, Del./St. Elizabeth) tallied 11 points with the former adding seven rebounds and four assists.
Shannon Remolde (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) rounded out the scoring with five points.
KU got off to just the start it needed to on the road and following a loss. It scored the game's first nine points in the opening 3:25, before the Huskies (4-12, 2-8) got on the scoreboard via a shot from distance at the 3:44 mark. Zerman, Pulliam, Pierson and Remolde were all a part of the opening 9-0 run. The lead was as large as 18 after a Hurley driving layup made the score 25-7, and that is how the opening quarter finished.
The Maroon and Gold continued their push to start the second quarter as Hurley remained hot and drilled a 3-pointer just 0:10 in to climb the lead to 28-7. The sophomore then ended the half on an individual 7-0 run with two 3-pointers and a free-throw to give her team a 41-24 advantage at halftime.
Kutztown kept its foot on the gas pedal in the second half, outscoring Bloomsburg 17-11 in the third quarter and 13-7 in the final frame.
Kutztown remains on the road for its next game, at Millersville, next Wednesday, Jan. 24, at 5:30 p.m.
