EDINBORO, Pa. – Kutztown fought all the way to the final horn but could not conjure up the same McComb Fieldhouse magic against 23rd-ranked Seton Hill in the first round of the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championship that it enjoyed during its run to a PSAC championship last weekend. The Griffins withstood each run the Golden Bears attempted to make, advancing to Saturday's second round, 87-75, Friday afternoon.
The Golden Bears got within six points in the fourth quarter after trailing by as many as 19 in the second quarter. PSAC East Athlete of the Year
Naia Pulliam (Wilmington, Del./St. Elizabeth) poured in a game-high 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting to surpass 1,500 career points (1,502) and finish her career with the third most points in program history.
PSAC Tournament Most Valuable Player
Abbey Hearn (Lewes, Del./Cape Henlopen) added 21 points and 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season and third in the last five games. Hearn's 1,190 career points rank 12th all-time at KU.
Making just its third NCAA Tournament appearance all-time and first since 2022, Kutztown (22-12) needed to battle uphill most of the afternoon after Seton Hill (24-6) grabbed a 25-17 lead after the first quarter and extended its advantage to 15 points, 45-30, at the half.
The Maroon and Gold held two brief leads in the first quarter but only for a combined 23 seconds. Hearn's layup at the 7:20 mark put KU ahead 7-5. Less than 30 seconds later, Pulliam converted a layup to put the Bears back in front, 9-7. Seton Hill responded with a 12-2 run capped by a Hailee Ford 3-pointer to make it 19-11 with 2:58 to go and the Griffins never trailed again.
Seton Hill, which received votes in the latest WBCA National Poll and is ranked 23rd in the D2CSC Top 25, steadily increased its lead to 19 as the second quarter clock ticked under two minutes. Kutztown outscored the Griffins 24-16 in the third, finally getting the deficit back to single digits (61-54) when Hearn drained a trey from the right wing as time expired.
The Griffins opened the fourth by scoring 10 of the first 13 points to extend their cushion back to 14 points with just over six minutes remaining.
Five straight points from Pulliam, including a four-point play, and an
Olivia Smelas (Jim Thorpe, Pa./Jim Thorpe) 3-pointer made it a two-score game (78-72) with 1:37 left but Seton Hill scored on its next three possessions and KU was limited to three points the rest of the way.
Seton Hill improved to 2-0 against the Golden Bears this season and lead the all-time series 6-2. Kutztown fell to 0-3 in national tournament games dating back to their inaugural appearance in 1996.
Shooting numbers were nearly even as the Griffins converted at a 44.4% clip from the floor (28-of-63) to Kutztown's 44.3% (27-of-61). Seton Hill outrebounded KU 40-32 and turned 16 Golden Bear turnovers into 16 points. The Griffins were also able to get to the foul line 30 times, making 24.
Pulliam and Hearn were the only Golden Bears to finish as double-figure scorers. Pulliam added six assists. Smelas totaled nine points and eight boards in 19 minutes, while
Leila Hurley (Jim Thorpe, Pa./Jim Thorpe) also had nine points.
Mia Kalich led four Griffins in double figures with 20 points and also paced the team in rebounds (nine), steals (four) and assists (three). Helene Cowan had 18 points, Hallie Cowan 16 and Hailee Ford 13 off the bench.
Pulliam, who recently set the program's single-season scoring record, ended the 2024-25 campaign with 585 points and moved into sole possession of first place on the single-season field goals list with 212. Her 17.2 points per game rank as the fifth-highest scoring average by a Golden Bear in a season all-time. The Wilmington, Del., native ranks top 10 in career points (1,502, third), field goals (556, third), 3-point field goals (161, fifth), field goal percentage (48.9%, tied for sixth), 3-point field goal percentage (36.7%, seventh) and scoring average (12.5 ppg, 10th).
Kutztown's 22 victories are the second most in the program's 54-season history, topped only by the 26 wins in 2021-22, and mark the fifth 20+ win season in program history.
