Millersville, Pa. - Kutztown led 26-19 with 7:20 remaining in the second quarter, but from there the Millersville University women's basketball team went on a 24-3 run that lasted until the 6:07 mark in the third quarter and the Golden Bears never led again. The Marauders shot 72.7 percent (8-for-11) during that stretch while Kutztown went just 1-for-17 from the floor. This marks Millersville's sixth win out of its last seven games and its second-straight win against a first-place team. 

"We had been waiting for this game since the last time we played them," head coach Mary Fleig said. "We did not show them the kind of team we are. This team has shown a lot of people how good our growth and development has been. They are all playing really well together, believing in each other and they're all very focused on the game plan."

The Marauders (12-13, 9-9 PSAC) have also win five of their last six at home and are now alone in fourth place in the PSAC East standings, while the Golden Bears (15-11, 12-6 PSAC) fall to 5-7 on the road.

Three Marauders scored in double figures: Olivia Mottern (18), Lauren Lister (16) and Kennedy Middleton set a new career high (11). Middleton also notched a career and game high four steals, grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and tallied a career-high two blocks. 

"Kennedy didn't play the last time we faced Kutztown, so she had a lot of energy and wanted to get some payback," Fleig said. "She helped a lot in the open court with ball pressure and attacked well at the high post. Lauren really gutted it out during the second half and did a great job for us, and it was good to see Olivia step up. She knew she had to. Olivia had a great pull-up tonight and looked to score, which I'm glad to see from her."

Middleton's layup with 1:37 left in the first half gave Millersville a 27-26 lead and proved to be the only lead change of the game. Kutztown led by as many as 10 with 2:51 remaining in the first quarter, but the Marauders finished the period on an 8-0 run to go into the second quarter down just 21-19.

"We were a little unsettled in that first quarter," Fleig said. "We were rushing our offense, but we switched that during the second quarter."

Millersville didn't score in the second quarter until the 5:49 mark, but that began the 24-3 run. The Marauders held their biggest lead of the game, 14, at the end of the run and the Golden Bears never came within four. They did cut it to five with 6:27 left in the game, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Courtney Dimoff and Samantha Brusha put an end to Kutztown's momentum.  

Millersville made more field goals (21-for-47) and had a higher shooting percentage (44.7 percent) than the Golden Bears (26.5 percent), despite the fact that Kutztown made 21 more shots (18-for-68) than the Marauders. The Golden Bears also attempted 31 3-pointers, but made just five of them (16.1 percent). 

There was also a big difference at the free throw line. Millersville got to the charity stripe 28 times and shot 78.6 percent (22-for-28), while Kutztown got there just 18 times and shot 77.8 percent (14-for-18).  

"Our defense was all about heart tonight," Fleig said. "We have been drilling this defense in practice, and they're starting to get results and are playing harder. Our rotations are a lot better than what they were. We did a great job tonight of getting the ball and running in the open court."

ADDITIONAL QUOTES
• "During that big run our defense did a great job. We got some good rebounds that got us in the open court."
• "The team has really grown and bonded together. They all want to play well for each other, and it's showing. Our motto has been 'this is us,' and this is the team we knew we could be."

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• The Golden Bears scored just five points in the second quarter.
• The Marauders held an edge in points in the paint (28-26), points off turnovers (19-14) and fast break points (14-4). Kutztown outrebounded Millersville 41-38, but the Marauders had a 33-24 advantage in defensive boards.
• Karen Lapkiewicz scored a game-high 20 points in the Golden Bears' 78-63 win over Millersville earlier this season, but went just 2-for-8 from the floor in this game. 
• Olivia Mottern was also the game's leading scorer the last time these two teams met. She set new careers highs in points (23), field goals made (8) and 3-pointers (6). Her 66.7 shooting percentage (8-for-12) also marked a new career high. 

NOTES
• The Marauders' three-game win streak is tied for their longest this season.
• Millersville has now won seven of the last 10 meetings with Kutztown and 20 of the last 21 meetings in Pucillo Gymnasium.
• The Golden Bears entered the game with a chance to earn their first season sweep of the Marauders since the 1997-98 season.

UP NEXT
• Millersville looks for its fourth-straight win when it travels to Lock Haven for a critical game on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 1 p.m. The Bald Eagles hold the tiebreaker over the Marauders after defeating them 81-69 back on Jan. 23. Lock Haven currently sits in fifth place in the PSAC East standings, just below fourth-place Millersville. 
 

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