SHEPHERDSTOWN, W. Va. – The Kutztown women's basketball team erased a second quarter deficit and stretched a one point, halftime lead to double figures by outscoring Shepherd by more than twice their output in winning the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division's regular season finale on the road Saturday afternoon, 73-50.
With the victory, the Golden Bears (14-14 overall, 12-10 PSAC) clinched the three seed and will host Mansfield in the First Round of the PSAC Tournament on Monday, March 4, at 5:30 p.m., at Keystone Arena. The Mounties were defeated by East Stroudsburg Saturday afternoon and the Warriors secured the fifth seed.
The players finished in double figures in scoring, led by a game-high 18 points from
Olivia Smelas (Jim Thorpe, Pa./Jim Thorpe). The sophomore added eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block.
Zara Zerman (Jonestown, Pa./Northern Lebanon) tallied 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Abbey Hearn (Lewes, Del./Cape Henlopen) had an efficient game in her second game back from injury, ending with 12 points in 13 minutes of action.
Kutztown trailed 13-11 after the first quarter, but took a 19-13 lead on 3-pointers by
Leila Hurley (Jim Thorpe, Pa./Jim Thorpe) and Hearn 3:32 into the second quarter. The Rams (6-21, 4-18) rallied and went back on top 22-21 after two free-throws, but a
Sydney Pierson (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) layup and two free-throws from Zerman allowed KU to go into the locker room at halftime ahead 25-24.
Whatever speech head coach
Janet Malouf and assistant coach
Justin Hallman gave the group at intermission sure helped as the Maroon and Gold outscored Shepherd 31-15 in the third quarter to hold a 56-39 advantage heading into the final frame. KU's lead jumped to as many as 28 points and never got lower than 14 in the fourth.
Pierson tallied nine points and 12 rebounds and both Hurley and
Bella Arcuri (Fallsington, Pa./Pennsbury) contributed eight points, with the latter adding four assists.
Kutztown will now shift its attention to the postseason as it hosts a PSAC First Round game vs. Mansfield on Monday, March 4, at 5:30 p.m.
