KUTZTOWN, Pa. – It was a totally different team since the last time they were on the court at Keystone Arena. Third-seeded Kutztown women's basketball shot 44.2% (23-for-52) from the floor and 45.8% (11-of-24) from 3-point land and held a consistent double-digit lead in the second half to take care of sixth-seeded Mansfield 66-48 Monday evening in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference First Round game at Keystone Arena.
It was a welcoming sight for head coach
Janet Malouf and assistant coach
Justin Hallman. Since a 46-43 win over the Mountaineers back on Feb. 3, the Golden Bears (15-14 overall) had lost five of their last seven games to conclude the regular season. In the last home game against East Stroudsburg last Wednesday, KU shot 23.8% (15-for-63) overall and just 12% (3-of-25) from three.
Enter the postseason and it was a completely different story for the Maroon and Gold. Kutztown took a slim, five-point lead at halftime (29-24) and added on in the second half, outscoring Mansfield (11-17) 37-24 over the final 20 minutes to advance to the quarterfinals.
Three Golden Bears finished in double figures in scoring, led by a game and career-high 19 points from
Leila Hurley (Jim Thorpe, Pa./Jim Thorpe). The sophomore was a scintillating 6-10 from the floor and 5-for-7 from long distance, adding four rebounds and four assists.
Olivia Smelas (Jim Thorpe, Pa./Jim Thorpe) finished with 17 points and six rebounds.
Zara Zerman (Jonestown, Pa./Northern Lebanon) rounded out the trio with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists.
It looked like it was going to be Mansfield's game early on as the Mounties on back-to-back 3-pointers within the first 1:48 of the game to take a 6-0 lead. Zerman and Smelas, then, connected on two straight 3-pointers to tie the game and they were off and running. The first quarter finished with KU on top 21-12 and then went ahead by as many as 12 points (29-17) after a jumper by
Abbey Hearn (Lewes, Del./Cape Henlopen) with 3:28 left in the second quarter, but Mansfield answered with seven unanswered points to cut its deficit to 29-24 at halftime.
But the Maroon and Gold quickly went back up by double digits, 4:48 into the third after a Smelas layup pushed the score to 36-26. Kutztown led 43-32 after three and went ahead by as many as 22 (62-40) after two Hurley free-throws with 2:46 to play.
Sydney Pierson (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) and
Naia Pulliam (Wilmington, Del./St. Elizabeth) both finished with four points, with Pierson adding seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
Shannon Remolde (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) tallied three points and six rebounds and Hearn and
Bella Arcuri (Fallsington, Pa./Pennsbury) rounded out the scoring with two points each.
Kutztown will now take on the two seed, West Chester, in the PSAC quarterfinal round, on Wednesday, March 6, at 5:30 p.m., at Hollinger Fieldhouse.
