Suffocating start not enough as Marauders come up short in final seconds against Golden Bears

Wednesday, February 12

Millersville, PA

5:30 PM

Millersville University

13-10,8-9PSAC

Kutztown

15-10,10-6PSAC

Kutztown

Millersville

Suffocating start not enough as Marauders come up short in final seconds against Golden Bears

2/12/2025 8:39:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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By: Wes Champlin, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

MILLERSVILLE, Pa. — Down 54–52 with the ball, the Millersville Marauders had a chance to tie it or go ahead in the final 20 seconds, but a hectic final possession resulted in a turnover with three ticks on the clock and sealed their fate against the visiting Kutztown Golden Bears. Sophia Elstone led the hosts with a season-high 14 points while Makiah Shaw added 11 and four blocks.

It was an especially disappointing outcome for the Marauders, who built up an 18–4 lead over the game's first 12 minutes by holding the Golden Bears to 1-of-16 from the field and forcing nine turnovers. Elstone and Shaw combined for 10 points during this stretch and were key to the Marauders' hot start. Marauders head coach Kira Mowen said that she put the loss on herself when talking to her team after the game.

"I thought we had a great start," Mowen said postgame. "The kids really bought into everything that we had on the game plan. I blame it on me, honestly. We exerted so much energy and effort defensively that I probably needed to do a better job with the rotations and making sure we're staying fresh the whole game."

The ending of the game was eerily reminiscent to the Golden Bears' visit to Millersville last season. In that one, the Marauders had a chance to tie on the final possession and Mowen elected to not call a timeout with 12 seconds left, which resulted in a last second heave that went wide. That possession was on the second-year head coaches' mind as she watched her team come up the court in a similar situation over a year later.

"It was (on my mind) a little bit, but only briefly," Mowen said of her thought process during that final possession. "This year I felt a little bit more comfortable in that we could get into the flow of the offense that we had just run. We didn't have an offense last year, and we needed a three whereas this time we only needed a two. I wanted us to turn the corner and go downhill, hoping that maybe we could get some body contact and get to the rim for a layup like we had for most of the game."

Freshman Aniya Eberhart provided a spark off the bench for the Marauders, going three-of-four from the field including two momentum-swinging buckets in the second half. Elstone's 14 points were a season high for the graduate student. She also had her best game of the season on the defensive end with four steals.

"Sophie needed one of these nights," Marauders head coach Kira Mowen said of her team's leading scorer postgame. "I had a great talk with her after the East Stroudsburg game, and she did everything from a coaching standpoint that I asked her to do."

Millersville is back in action on Saturday, Feb. 15 against Mansfield. The tip-off for that contest is scheduled for 1 p.m., weather permitting.