Box Score

EAST STROUDSBURG – Sophomore guard Noelle Powell scored 16 points, and senior guard Madison Tamburini registered her first career double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds as East Stroudsburg University cruised to a 74-62 victory over Kutztown on Wednesday night at Koehler Fieldhouse.

The Warriors (9-5, 5-5 PSAC) led by as many as 26 points as they moved back to .500 in league play. Junior guard Imani Brown added 12 points, while sophomore center Meghan Boryeskne netted a career-high seven points off the bench.

Kelsey Watson had a game-high 17 points, and Sierra Taylor added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Golden Bears (5-13, 2-8 PSAC).

ESU took control with a pair of 14-0 runs in the opening half. The Warriors led 11-8 when a 3-pointer by Tamburini began the first spurt, as the home side took a 27-14 edge into the second quarter. The 27 points are the most ESU has scored in a first quarter this season.

The second 14-0 stretch upped the ESU lead to 41-17 with 3:40 remaining in the first half, with Boryeskne scoring six of her seven points during the run. The Warriors' largest lead came at the conclusion of the second quarter, with a jumper by freshman guard Sadie Cresswell allowing them to take a 45-19 lead into halftime. Kutztown scored only five points in the second, the fewest by an ESU opponent in any game in 2016-17.

ESU shot 51.4 percent (18-35) from the field in the first 20 minutes and 45.5 percent (5-11) from 3-point range. Powell did most of her damage in the opening half, tallying 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting. She has registered 16 points in back-to-back games, netting 15+ points for a sixth time on the year.

Boryeskne and freshman center Alison Bauman were pressed into action after the Warriors lost standout senior forward Allison Howard to injury with under three minutes remaining in the first quarter. Both responded to the increased minutes, with Bauman chipping in four points and eight rebounds in 16 minutes of play.

Kutztown never got closer than 12 points after the intermission. Tamburini grabbed eight of her 13 rebounds in the second half, and she drained two of her three 3-pointers on the night after the break to seal the double-double. Tamburini's 13 boards were well ahead of her previous career-high of eight.

Freshman guard Jordan Hertz chipped in a team-high five assists and three steals in 23 minutes of action. Brown, meanwhile, reached double figures for a ninth time this season with her 12-point output.

ESU currently sits in a tie for second place in the PSAC East standings with West Chester. Both teams are one game back of Shippensburg (11-5, 6-4 PSAC), which topped the Golden Rams by an 82-48 final tonight.

The Warriors remain at home on Saturday afternoon to conclude a three-game home stand against Slippery Rock, with tip-off scheduled for 1 p.m.