PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Juniors
Leila Hurley (Jim Thorpe, Pa./Jim Thorpe) and
Olivia Smelas (Jim Thorpe, Pa./Jim Thorpe) combined to score nearly half of Kutztown women's basketball's points as KU dropped a non-conference game at 12th-ranked Jefferson Saturday afternoon, 82-68.
Hurley netted a season-high 13 points and Smelas tallied a team-best 18 points for the Golden Bears (2-4 overall). Smelas also added five rebounds and three steals, tying team-highs.
The Rams (3-0) jumped out in front early, outscoring Kutztown 27-12 in the opening quarter to take control of the game and never look back. KU pulled to within 14 (41-27) after a
Kitty Randa (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) 3-pointer with 0:31 left in the second quarter, but trailed 45-27 at halftime as Jefferson scored four in-a-row. The closest the Maroon and Gold would get the rest of the way was 12 (80-68) with just 1:24 to play.
Randa and
Naia Pulliam (Wilmington, Del./St. Elizabeth) each recorded eight points with Randa tying a team-high with five boards. Pulliam is now just 21 points shy of 1,000 for her career.
Bella Quinn (Ashland, Ky./Russell) tallied seven points, two rebounds and two assists. Both
Alexa Windish (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Wood) and
Jess Aponik (Philadelphia, Pa./Germantown Academy) finished with four points and
Anaya Price (Newark, Del./Caravel Academy) and
Anna Stein (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) added three points to round out the scoring.
Next up, Kutztown opens up play in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference as it hits the road to take on Edinboro next Friday, Nov. 22, at 3 p.m.