KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Kutztown women's basketball was slow out of the gate, but overcame a double-digit, second-half deficit to rally and defeat Shippensburg 55-47 Wednesday night in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division clash inside Keystone Arena.
 
The Golden Bears (14-9 overall, 10-6 PSAC) needed a bounce back game following Saturday's defeat at East first place Lock Haven, and they left the locker room at halftime with a spark and outscored the Raiders (3-21, 2-15) 39-18 in the second half to climb back and claim the victory on their home court.
 
Danae Ellzy (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) finished with a team-high 12 points and added three rebounds and two steals. Bella Quinn (Ashland, Ky./Russell) tallied nine points, two steals and an assist. Madison Siggins (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) also had nine points and added five rebounds. Ariana Smuda (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East) totaled six points, three rebounds and three blocks. Jadyn Brenneman (New Fairfield, Conn./Western Reserve Academy) netted five points, and each of Leila Hurley (Jim Thorpe, Pa./Jim Thorpe), Olivia Smelas (Jim Thorpe, Pa./Jim Thorpe) and Kitty Randa (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) had four points with Smelas adding seven boards and four steals. Taylor Gurysh (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy) rounded out the scoring with two points.
 
It was a cold start to the game for both teams as neither could find their footing and the first 10 minutes featured turnovers and missed shots. KU scored 10 points in the first frame and did not record its first field goal until a Randa layup with 0:12 left. The Maroon and Gold's eight other points came from the free-throw line, as they started the game 0-for-9 from the floor. The Raiders weren't much better and had turnovers on each of their first three possessions.
 
The Golden Bears were outscored 18-6 in the second quarter and went 3-of-15 from the floor, totaling 4-for-26 total in the half.
 
The second half was a completely different story for Kutztown as it raced out of the intermission and doubled up Ship in the third quarter, outscoring them 16-8 and shooting its highest percentage of the game at 35.7% (5-of-14). The one area that was unlike the Golden Bears was from long distance as they finished 1-for-14 and didn't record their first 3-pointer until Ellzy connected midway through the fourth quarter.
 
That final frame was all Maroon and Gold as they outscored the Raiders 23-10.
 
Kutztown is back out on the road in its next game this Saturday, Feb. 14, for a 1 p.m., tip-off at Bloomsburg.

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