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EAST STROUDSBURG – A trio of seniors were honored prior to the start of East Stroudsburg University's women's basketball contest against Kutztown on Wednesday night inside an electric Koehler Fieldhouse. The Warriors honored Ann McKnight, Noelle Powell, and team manager Rachel Grace. The Golden Bears would come away with the 62-54 Victory.
 
Grace, who is also the team manager for the women's volleyball and softball teams at ESU, made her debut for the Warriors in a three-minute exhibition matchup against the Golden Bears. Grace scored 10 points in the matchup and sent the Koehler Fieldhouse crowd into a frenzy after draining her first 3-pointer. Grace also had the opportunity to play against Kutztown senior Taylor Thames, who attended North Penn High School with her.  
 
ESU (11-15, 8-11 PSAC) took advantage of a cold-start by the Golden Bears as the Warriors held a 17-11 lead after the opening quarter of action. The Warriors would lead by as many as 16 points in the contest before seeing the Golden Bears come storming back in the second half. Kutztown (16-11, 3-6 PSAC) kept pace with Bloomsburg for the top spot in the East after outscoring ESU 40-22 in the second half.
 
The Warriors enter the final game of the regular season tied for sixth-place with Shippensburg after the Raiders dropped a 69-68 heartbreaker at home against West Chester. ESU travels to Millersville for its regular-season finale on Saturday, while the Raiders make the trip to Bloomsburg.
 
ESU was paced by Powell, who made her 99th career appearance for the Warriors. Powell tallied 14 points and two steals, while sophomore Marlene Bassett added nine points for ESU. Junior Tiffany Lapotsky saw her streak of scoring double-digit points come to an end at 18 games after finishing with nine points. Sophomore Kaitlyn Swint notched a career-high seven rebounds to go along with five points and three steals.
 
The Golden Bears saw Rylee Derr take control of the game in the second half as she went 5-of-7 from the field and 3-of-3 from downtown to spark a Kutztown comeback. Derr finished the contest with 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting while adding seven boards. Kutztown also got 12 points from Gabbi Wright, who went 8-of-12 at the charity stripe. Alexis Smith added nine points off a trio of 3-pointers for Kutztown.
 
Powell opened the contest with four of the Warriors' first six points and added a jumper with 3:22 left in the quarter to put ESU up 8-1. Kutztown registered its first bucket of the game with 2:56 remaining in the quarter as Derr finished a layup in the paint. ESU increased its lead to 17-8 following a fast-break layup from Lapotsky with just 47 seconds left. Derr would answer for the Golden Bears, hitting a three to trim the deficit to 17-11 heading into the second quarter.
 
ESU took its first double-digit lead of the contest with 7:19 left in the second quarter as Lapotsky connected on a trey off a feed from Powell. Kutztown rallied to cut the deficit to 25-20 following back-to-back treys from Smith and Karen Lapkiewicz. Both sides would go almost three minutes without a bucket as junior Dominique Rayam ended the drought with a layup to make it 27-20.
 
The Warriors took a 32-22 lead into the break as sophomore Amanda Pike drained a 3-ball with just over a minute to play. ESU finished the half shooting over 50 percent from the field, including a 7-9 start in the first quarter.
 
The opening three minutes of the third quarter would bode well for the Warriors as ESU stretched the lead to 38-24 following a four-point play from Powell. Swint pushed the advantage to 16 points following a layup with 7:36 left in the quarter. Kutztown would start its comeback as Lapkiewicz brought the deficit to single-digits with a trey. Smith connected on a 3-ball of her own with 43 ticks left on the clock to make it 44-39 heading to the fourth quarter.
 
ESU increased its lead early in the quarter to seven (46-39) before the Golden Bears rallied to trim the deficit to a point (46-45) following a trey from Derr. Wright would give Kutztown the lead for good thanks to a pair of free throws at the charity stripe. Derr extended the lead for Kutztown to 62-52 late in the quarter after a pair of made free-throws. Bassett tallied the final points of the night for ESU at the charity stripe as the Warriors dropped a 62-54 decision.
 
The Warriors will look to avenge a loss at home earlier this season against the Marauders on Saturday at 1 p.m. from Pucillo Gym in Millersville. Chuck Seese of ESPN Poconos 840 AM will have the call on Saturday. Fans can find links for live stats, video, and audio on the women's basketball schedule page at www.esuwarriors.com.