Millersville University
9-8,5-6PSAC
Kutztown
10-7,6-4PSAC
Marauders' explosive third quarter lifts them past Golden Bears
1/21/2026 7:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - Millersville women's basketball (9-8, 5-6 PSAC) took down second-seeded Kutztown University (10-7, 6-4 PSAC) in a Wednesday evening track meet inside Pucillo Gymnasium. 21 third-quarter points kick-started a productive second half offense for the Marauders.
The game started ice cold for the Marauders, who scored their first bucket seven minutes and 24 seconds into the opening quarter. They turned to their number one scoring option so far this season in Daniella Ranieli, who hit a 3-pointer to get the scoring going for the Marauders. While the Marauders only had nine points in the first quarter, they went 60% from three, hitting 3 of 5. Ranielli had six of the nine, whereas Gabby Bowes hit the other three-pointer for Millersville.
The second was a lot of the same for Millersville, but luckily, the Golden Bears were matching their offensive struggles. Millersville shot 35.5% from the field and were unable to hit a three in their five attempts in the second quarter, but the Golden Bears shot 21.3% and hit one three pointer with a 14.3% which led to them trailing the Marauders 21-20 going into halftime.
The Marauders, much like they have all season at home, erupted in the third quarter and put the first half troubles behind them, not just to match their first half score but to take an even larger lead as Kutztown continued to struggle. Millersville shot 7 of 14 from the field and 1 of 3 from three en route to taking a 13-point lead going into the final quarter of play.
Needing to claw back from the deficit, the Golden Bears applied a full-court press that the Marauders had trouble with, leading to 13 fourth-quarter turnovers and 24 of the Golden Bears' fourth-quarter points coming off the fast break. When they did break the press, the Marauders were able to hit their shots, going 63.6% from the field and hitting both of the threes they took to cement the win over Kutztown.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- The Marauders had two scorers in double-digits in Morgan Mahoney, who had 14 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks, and Daniella Ranielli, who had 13 points.
- Kelly Cleaver assisted in anchoring the Marauders defensively with four blocks and a steal.
- Despite a poor shooting performance, the Marauders hit the shots where and when they mattered, going 6 of 15 from beyond the arc at 40.0%.
- The Golden Bears' defense, specifically the full-court press that was applied, forced 22 Marauder turnovers to their 11. But, they couldn't overcome the poor shooting night they had despite a late fourth quarter push.
UP NEXT
Millersville will host Bloomsburg with hopes of achieving another critical PSAC East win at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
