Complete Game Notes
GAME INFORMATION
Millersville (16-6, 13-5 PSAC) at Kutztown (13-9, 11-7 PSAC)
Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013 - 1 p.m.
Keystone Arena, Kutztown, Pa.
MEDIA INFORMATION
Audio Broadcast (MSBN)
Live Stats
SERIES INFORMATION
Series vs. Kutztown: 52-20
Series Streak: MU, 2
First Meeting: 1975-76 (MU, 69-55)
Last Meeting: 2013 (MU, 78-56)
Last 10: 8-2
Mary Fleig vs. Kutztown: 36-13
Janet Malouf vs. Millersville: 10-31
GAME NOTES
· After winning its fourth consecutive game at Cheyney Wednesday, the women's team is on its hottest stretch since it opened the season with five straight victories. The Marauders handed Cheyney a 76-45 loss on the Wolves' home floor to bump the road team's record to 16-6, 13-5 in PSAC play. In the game, redshirt senior forward
Aurielle Mosley finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds for her third double-double in a row and fifth in her past six games. Her 18 points came on 8-of-16 shooting, and she has shot 50 percent or better in eight of her past nine outings, none of which she scored below nine points.
Carly Gallagher finished with 16 points on an efficient shooting night, going 5-for-8 from the field, and
Senada Mehmedovic gave Millersville the spark it needed off the bench, hitting for 12 points of her own to post her third straight game in double figures.
· The win and the 13-5 PSAC record would put the Marauders in sole possession of first place if the season ended today. After defeating Shippensburg Wednesday night, Bloomsburg is tied with Millersville in terms of PSAC record at 13-5, but the Marauders own the end-of-season tiebreaker over the Huskies by virtue of a sweep in the season series, 2-0. Right behind both teams sit the Raiders at 12-6, but Ship has a game in hand on the Marauders due to a Jan. 30 victory over Millersville. Those two teams meet on Feb. 27, the final day of the regular season, and could be battling for the PSAC East's top seed in the PSAC Tournament.
· The 4-0 start to the month of February is the best start to any month since November 2010. The last time any Marauder team went 5-0 to open a month was at the end of the prior season, in February of 2010. A finish like that team's finish would certainly net Millersville the top seed in the PSAC East for the PSAC Tournament and possibly an NCAA Tournament berth. That 2009-10 team went 8-0 in the final month of the regular season and finished with an overall record of 25-6. The 2009-10 edition of the Marauders fell in the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship to national semifinalist Gannon.
· Millersville is again getting national recognition, receiving five votes in the most recent USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll. The team is one of five PSAC teams to either be ranked or receive votes in the most recent poll. The other four teamsare (in order): Gannon, which is ranked 10th nationally, Edinboro at No. 21, Bloomsburg, which received 18 votes and Indiana (Pa.). The Crimson Hawks took home eight votes from the coaches. The top-ranked team is Ashland, which received all 31 first-place votes and boasts a record of 24-0, as one of only three unbeaten teams remaining in the country. No team in the top 25 has more than fve losses this season. Regional rankings are expected to be released within the next week.
· Mosley and Newman continue their charge on the record books. Newman is now just 56 points behind current Millersville athletic director
Peg Kauffman for fourth place in all-time scoring and just 58 points from becoming the fourth player in history to notch 1,400 career points. Mosley, meanwhile, climbed over two players Wednesday night and into seventh place on the all-time scoring list, surpassing the 1,300-point barrier and passing current assistant coach
Darlene Newman. With Newman sitting at fifth, Mosley most likely wil get to sixth, just eight points behind Paula Light, who sits in sixth. She is also in sixth all-time with 512 field goals made and recently passed D. Newman for third in career rebounding. She has collected 938 career boards, 33 behind Shelly Bowie for second all-time and 67 behind Kristy Garner for the school record of 1,005.
ABOUT KUTZTOWN
· Kutztown hosts the Marauders Saturday afternoon fresh off a huge win over West Chester Wednesday. Against the Golden Rams, the Golden Bears grabbed control of the PSAC East's fourth seed with a 68-62 win, which is made even bigger when considering that Kutztown swept the season series from West Chester. Ashley Wood poured in a game-high 17 points to lead the Golden Bears past West Chester and give Kutztown back-to-back wins for the first time since Jan. 16-23, when it bested West Chester, East Stroudsburg and Cheyney in three straight games.
· Despite two victories in a row, the last time the Golden Bears and the Marauders met, it was no picnic for Kutztown, especially in the second half, when Wood went down with an injury. Up until that point, the Golden Bears rallied from an early 11-point deficit and actually took a two-point lead into the halftime break. But out of the locker room, Millersville used a 24-6 sprint in the first 9:55 of the second stanza to blow past Kutztown on the Pucillo Gymnasium hardwood, 78-56. That loss for the Golden Bears snapped the previously mentioned three game win streak and sent them back to a tie for second place in the division standings. Kutztown would love to get revenge against a Marauder team that is just 17-14 all-time at Kutztown. A Golden Bear win would pull Kutztown within one game of the division lead.
· In terms of scoring offense and defense this season, the Golden Bears sit right in the middle of the pack, ranking 10th in scoring offense at 65.5 points per game and eighth in defense, allowing 63.0 points per game. To win Saturday, they'll need to tame Millersville's second-best scoring offense, posting 71.0 points per game, which trails only Bloom in the PSAC. Kutztown's 10th-ranked offense will also need to solve the Marauders' fifth-ranked scoring defense, which allows just 59.1 points per game.
· A key for Kutztown will be cracking the 60-point barrier on the offensive end, as Millersville boasts an undefeated record at 12-0 (11-0 PSAC) when allowing opponents to score less than 60 points. Fortunately for the Golden Bears, they've reached that plateau in 19 of their 22 games so far in 2012-13.
· As far as home court advantage is concerned, that is one area where, despite conventional wisdom, Kutztown does not hold an edge. The team is just 6-5 on the Keystone Arena hardwood and is a game better on the road, going 7-4 in 11 trips away from home. One area where the Golden Bears can use a home court edge is on the free throw line. If they can get to the line with the home cooking, they have the capability to make the Marauders pay, shooting 71.6 percent from the charity stripe to rank fourth in the PSAC.
· The offense needs to be led by Wood again, as it has been all season and was before she went down at Pucillo. The senior guard averages a team-best 14.0 points a game while shooting 38.9 percent from the floor. The all-around play of Alyssa Bonenberger will also be needed, and the junior guard can deliver, averaging 9.4 points per game to go along with 8.5 boards per game.
