KUTZTOWN, Pa. — In a season-defining win, the Marauders entered the fourth quarter down 10 points to the Golden Bears but came back in the final 10 minutes to steal the 61-59 victory at Kutztown. It was a team effort down the stretch, with six different players scoring in the period while not committing a single turnover. The win brings Millersville one game closer to third-place Kutztown in the PSAC's Eastern Division. 

Brenna Ortwein was big in the first quarter for the Marauders, recording five points and four rebounds. Her hustle was key to the visitor advantage of 14-12 at the end of the first period. The Marauders received contributions across the board in that first quarter in addition to Ortwein's efforts; five different players contributed two or more points to the team's 14.
 
Makiah Shaw extended that lead a few minutes into the second quarter with her first basket of the game. She posted up Kutztown's interior defender and finished the turnaround layup through contact for the three-point opportunity. Her attempt found all net and made it 17-14. They would take their largest lead of the quarter with Shaw's next two baskets, but it was all Golden Bears from there on out. They went on a 19-1 run over the next five minutes of the period and entered half up 36-24. The scoring discrepancy could be found in the team's shooting percentages, as Kutztown shot nearly 20% better in the first half.
 
The Marauders had a 48.7% shooting mark midway through the third quarter but were kept at arm's length because of the Golden Bears' efficiency. After hitting 71.4% of their attempts in the second, their team field goal percentage remained above 60 until about three minutes remaining in the third. Because of this, the Marauders' offensive efforts only cut the deficit to as much as nine in the period.
 
All of that changed in the fourth. A Madison Grubb three brought the Marauders within seven to start the quarter with the score 48-41. Jillian Crawford's steal and subsequent foul make made it a two score game and then another Grubb three made it a three-point game. The seven point Marauder run was their longest without interruption in the game and caused a Kutztown timeout.
 
Even with the stoppage, the momentum was clearly in the Marauders' favor. Grubb came up clutch again after the timeout. She snuffed a Golden Bear possession with a steal that led to a Shaw basket on the other end, reducing the lead to just one. A few minutes later, Jabria Ingram knotted the game at 52 with a pull up jumper. Shaw's next two-point make gave the Marauders their first lead in nearly 20 minutes of gametime. That happened with 4:29 remaining; Millersville's last lead prior was 22-21 at the 4:25 mark of the second.
 
Ortwein was fouled with 24 seconds remaining and hit one of two to go up 61-59. The Marauders stopped the hosts on that final possession to secure the comeback victory.

GAME NOTES:

• With the win, the Marauders' all-time record against the Golden Bears moves to 62-29. They even the season series after falling 64-60 in Pucillo Gymnasium on January 24.
• Millersville pulls one game closer to Kutztown in the standings with a conference record of 9-10. The Golden Bears sport a mark of 11-9 and are now 2.5 games head of the Marauders for third place in the division.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Shaw led the Marauders with 18 points while Jabria Ingram finished second with 14. Shaw also pulled down eight rebounds to pace the team in that category as well.
• The Golden Bears shot 62.5% in the first half compared to just 36% in the second. Turnovers were the main culprit for them in the fourth quarter; they had five compared to the Marauders' 0.
• The largest deficit of the game for the Marauders was 14 points and came with 3:56 left in the third quarter.

POSTGAME REACTION FROM HEAD COACH KIRA MOWEN:

• Feelings after the win: "The team fought and played hard. We needed some halftime motivation but coming back was good for this team in achieving a greater understanding of how to overcome adversity!"
• On her team entering the final stretch: "I'm excited to see what they bring to the table! We are starting to gel and mesh well together. I'm looking forward to the next two weeks."

UP NEXT:

• The Marauders host East Stroudsburg looking for their fourth straight victory on Saturday, February 24 at 1 p.m.