Boxscore

KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Forcing a season-high 32 turnovers wouldn't be enough to push the East Stroudsburg University women's basketball team past Kutztown University on Saturday as the Golden Bears recorded an 81-68 victory inside Keystone Arena.
 
ESU (8-11, 5-7 PSAC) would see the Golden Bears hit 12 3-pointers in the contest as Rylee Derr connected for nine of those shots from downtown. The Warriors outscored Kutztown 20-13 in the third quarter and trimmed the deficit to single-digits before seeing the Golden Bears pull away in the fourth quarter. Kutztown (10-9, 8-4 PSAC) got 10 of its 24 field-goals in the contest from Derr as the Golden Bears shot 54.5 percent on the afternoon.
 
Sophomore Marlene Bassett hit 6-of-12 shots from the field and tallied 16 points to pace the Warriors. Bassett also went 4-of-4 at the free-throw line while tallying one block and two steals. Junior Tiffany Lapotsky went 7-of-8 at the charity stripe and recorded 14 points for ESU, while sophomore Kaitlyn Swint added 10 points. Lapotsky and sophomore Abby Schoffstall combined for 12 steals in the contest as ESU tallied a season-high 20 steals.
 
Derr finished with 32 points for Kutztown to go along with seven rebounds and two assists. Karen Lapkiewicz added 13 points and six boards for the Golden Bears. Kutztown would out-rebound ESU 41-20 in the contest. Gabbi Wright and Alexis Smith combined for 18 points and nine rebounds for the Golden Bears.
 
ESU trailed 40-26 entering the second half but opened the third quarter with a 7-0 run. Bassett finished a layup in the paint to get the run started for the Warriors just 14 seconds into action. Lapotsky capped the run with a 3-ball to pull ESU within seven (40-33) with 8:13 remaining in the quarter.
 
The Golden Bears worked to get the lead back to double-digits following a 3-pointer from Derr. The Warriors countered with another run late in the quarter as Schoffstall connected on a pair of chances at the charity stripe. Sophomore Amanda Pike hit a jumper with 2:39 left to cut the deficit to 48-44. Kutztown extended the lead back to nine and would take a 53-46 advantage into the fourth quarter.
 
Kutztown led by as many as 18 points in the fourth quarter and would hold onto the lead for a total of 37:52. The Warriors did tally 31 points off Kutztown miscues in the contest and went 23-of-27 at the free-throw line. The 32 turnovers forced by ESU are the most against a PSAC opponent since tallying 34 against Mansfield in 2013. The 20 steals were also the first time that the Warriors recorded 20 or more since 2013 against Cheyney (21).  
 
The Warriors return home to open a three-game homestand on Wednesday night against Millersville at 6 p.m.