Women's Basketball
last updated 01/02/2010 05:37 PM

Kutztown falls short to nationally-ranked Gannon

KUTZTOWN, PA (January 2, 2010) – The Kutztown University women’s basketball team lost to Gannon University 86-68 despite a strong first half effort in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover contest. (BOXSCORE)

Although the women couldn’t keep their four-game win streak alive, senior guard Vivian Melvin (Chichester/Chichester) scored a career-high 18 points. This is the second-consecutive game Melvin has earned a career high point total. She scored 17 points against Philadelphia University Tuesday afternoon.

Melissa McQuade (Pittsburgh/Shaler)scored 16 points. She also earned five rebounds and contributed five assists. This is the 14th straight game in which McQuade has scored in double figures.

Defensively, Rachel Wisemiller (Hazleton/Hazleton) had a season-high three blocked shots to go with her 13 points. Junior guard Meredith Starr was the fourth Kutztown player to shoot in double digits. She contributed 13 points.

Kutztown (7-3) started the game strong against sixth-ranked Gannon (12-0), sinking its first two 3-point shot attempts by Wisemiller and McQuade for a 6-2 lead.  After falling behind by 13 points in the first half, the Golden Bears rallied behind some hot shooting and good defense. After freshman  Ashley Wood (Limerick/Spring-Ford) made a steal, junior guard Meredith Starr (Richmond, Va./Monacan) made a 3-pointer on KU's ensuing possession. That play allowed the Golden Bears to get back into the game.

Feeding off the energy, the Golden Bears closed the margin to 32-31 in Gannon’s favor with six minutes left in the first half.  The game remained tight with the teams combining for three ties over the final six minutes of the first half. Kutztown and Gannon went into intermission tied at 41-41.

Opening the second half, Melvin took the lead 43-42 for the Golden Bears with a jumper. Two minutes later, Kutztown led for the final time, 49-48 on a  Chauntelle Schroeder (Toronto, Ontario/Mother Teresa Catholic) foul shot. Gannon took control by scoring 11 straight points and holding KU scoreless over a five-minute stretch of the second half.

The Golden Bears return to action on Sunday, January 3 at home in Keystone Arena against Clarion University at 1 p.m.

--KU--