KUTZTOWN, Pa. — The East Stroudsburg University women's basketball team lost, 62-58 in overtime, Wednesday evening at Kutztown.
In a tight contest between the No. 5 and No. 4 teams in the PSAC East that saw 21 lead changes, 12 ties, and no lead larger than six, the Golden Bears (12-10, 7-6) prevailed to maintain their conference lead over the Warriors (8-11, 5-8 PSAC), thanks in part to a Kutztown buzzer-beating three-pointer that sent the game into overtime.
Notables
Emily Chmiel added another monster double-double to her resume, narrowly missing a 20-point, 20-rebound game. She finished with 23 points and 18 rebounds, including eight offensive boards. Chmiel also tallied two blocks and one steal. She now has 15 double-doubles on the season, 11 of which featured 20 or more points.
Brie Droege scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds, just two shy of a double-double. Droege also contributed two assists, two blocks, and one steal.
Lacie Kringe (pictured above) shot 57.1% from the field, finishing with 10 points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block.
How It Happened
Both teams went back and forth with the lead swapping multiple times. Kutztown appeared to take the lead going into the second quarter after two free throws, but a
Cassidy Saylor layup with 21 seconds left gave ESU a 10-9 lead.
The Warriors built a five-point lead in the second quarter to go up 18-13, but the Golden Bears closed the half on a 13-6 run to take a 26-22 lead at the break.
In the third quarter, ESU tied the game twice before taking their first lead of the half after a Chmiel layup at the 6:55 mark. The lead continued to change between the teams, with KU holding a three-point advantage with under a minute left. Droege then nailed a jumper to make it a one-point game.
Late in regulation,
Jessica Polin came up big with two critical defensive plays—first with a steal and then a block—both with under a minute remaining. After Droege made two big free throws to push the Warriors' lead to three, Kutztown hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer with just over a second remaining, sending the game into overtime. The Golden Bears went on to win in the extra period.
Up Next
The Warriors will look to regroup and continue their road trip Saturday at Shepherd. The game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
