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EAST STROUDSBURG – East Stroudsburg University tied the game at 58-58 on a layup by sophomore forward Jessica Martin with 6.5 seconds left, but Kutztown prevailed in the overtime session for a 76-65 win over the Warriors in PSAC East women's basketball on Sunday afternoon at Koehler Fieldhouse.

ESU (6-15, 5-12) climbed back from a 58-54 deficit with 2:30 left, getting two free throws from Fiascki with 1:35 remaining, two straight defensive stops and a pass from Fiascki to Martin to force overtime in the closing seconds.

Kutztown (12-9, 10-7), tied for fourth in the PSAC East, won the overtime 18-7, going 14-for-14 at the foul line to pull away after the Warriors struck first on a layup by senior forward Fayola Moise on their first possession.

The game was played Sunday afternoon after Saturday's game was postponed due to this weekend's winter storm.

Fiascki had 13 points and four assists, junior guard Andrea Veres had 13 points and six rebounds and Martin had 10 points and nine rebounds for ESU, which jumped out to an early 9-2 advantage and led until the seven-minute mark of the second half.

Moise added seven points, 11 rebounds and four steals, junior guard Halie Cintron had nine points and freshman guard Helena Gemmell had two points, five rebounds and five steals after entering ranked third in the PSAC with 2.6 steals per game.

ESU had 13 steals on 21 Kutztown turnovers, while the Golden Bears had nine steals on 20 turnovers by the Warriors.

Arianna Apostolopoulos had 18 points, six rebounds and six assists, Natalya Lee had 17 points, 11 rebounds and six assists and Alyssa Bonenberger added 11 points and six rebounds for Kutztown. Ashley Wood, their top scorer with 14.1 points per game, had one point in regulation but was 8-for-8 at the line in overtime and 9-for-10 for the game.

Veres had 10 points in the first half and the Warriors led 33-32 at intermission. Her 13 points were her most since scoring a season-high 22 at Edinboro on January 12.

She scored eight of ESU's first 14 points, and a three-pointer by Cintron gave the Warriors a 17-8 lead with 12 minutes left in the first half. Five straight points from senior guard Barb Borst made it 22-10 with just over nine minutes left, and the Warriors led 27-16 at the 6:40 mark before Kutztown closed the margin to one at halftime.

The Warriors held Kutztown scoreless for the first seven minutes of the second half to build a 38-32 lead, getting a steal and layup by Moise and a fast-break layup by Fiascki after a steal by Gemmell.

Lee scored KU's first bucket of the second half with 12:55 to play. Two three-pointers by Apostolopoulos and another by Lee tied the game at 47-all with 7:35 left, and Aly York made one-of-two at the line for Kutztown's first lead with 6:44 left.

There were five lead changes in the last seven minutes, with Bonenberger scoring four straight points for a 54-52 KU lead with 3:38 left. Apostolopoulos scored, Fiascki answered with a jumper and Apostolopoulos scored again for a 58-54 lead at the 2:27 mark before the Warriors forced an extra session.

ESU has a three-game lead over Mansfield (4-17, 2-15) for the sixth and final playoff spot in the PSAC East with five games remaining, and hosts the Mounties on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. The Warriors can secure a playoff spot with a victory by taking a four-game lead with four games left. They won the first meeting at Mansfield, 66-59, on January 16.

GAME NOTES
* Martin has scored 497 points in her career at ESU. Last year's PSAC East Freshman of the Year, she can become the ninth ESU player to hit the 500-point mark as a sophomore on Wednesday.

* Borst moved into 3rd at ESU with 118 career 3-pointers. Veres moved into 5th with 106, passing DeAnna Rayam (105, 2006-10) – now in her first season as ESU's assistant coach.