MANSFIELD – The Mansfield University women's basketball team pulled off an upset by taking down the Kutztown Golden Bears 46-40 at First Citizens Community Bank Court in Decker Gymnasium on Wednesday evening.
The Mountaineers' last win in the matchup against Kutztown came in 2012, snapping a 12 game win streak for the Golden Bears.
Kutztown (8-9, 6-4 PSAC) entered the day ranked second in the PSAC East, but a solid defensive performance by the Mountaineers held the Golden Bears to their worst shooting day of the season.
The first quarter proved to be a back-and-forth battle as Kutztown hit 3-pointers in their first two possessions. Mansfield's
Mia Leonard got on the board early with a layup in the paint. Sophomore
Paige Whitfield sparked, answering the Golden Bears' second trifecta with a long ball of her own. Entering the game as the Mounties' leading scorer,
Erin Gibbons made a layup to give Mansfield the lead. The bucket proved to be Gibbons' only field goal of the night after she landed awkwardly on her ankle and had to be removed from the game. Gibbons tried to reenter later in the contest but could not compete on the injured leg.
Minus their leading scorer, Mansfield (1-12, 1-6 PSAC) made up for the loss of Gibbons' offensive presence with a strong defensive showing. The Mounties held the Golden Bears to shoot just 18% from the field on the night, and outrebounded their opponents 46-37, leading to a 10-2 advantage in second chance points.
Kutztown's season-leading scorer Rylee Derr scored six of her team-high 14 points on the night in the first five minutes of action. That helped change the lead for the Golden Bears late in the first quarter, which ended with Kutztown on top 18-14.
The tides turned yet again in the second quarter. The Mounties held KU scoreless for over seven and a half minutes, fueling an 8-0 run to regain the lead. Kutztown was able to score four more points before the close of the first half, but not before Mansfield was able to gain some key momentum.
Despite a slow start for Mansfield in the second half, which was a direct result of eight turnovers and five missed field goals, the Mounties returned to their previous form.
Noelle Cameron hit a free throw to put MU on the board for the third quarter. The Mountaineers then went on a 7-1 run to close the quarter, which included a layup from Cameron with time winding down to tie the game.
With the score all knotted up entering the final ten minutes of play, Mansfield's strong defensive force caused a shot clock violation. The ensuing trip down the court, Whitfield held her ground in the paint and earned a gritty offensive foul to get the ball back for the Mounties. The sophomore proceeded to hit a 3-pointer in that possession to give Mansfield a 36-33 advantage - their first lead in over eight minutes of play.
From there, Mansfield never looked back. A physical fourth quarter included a scuffle for a loose ball around half court. The ball ended up at the feet of Cameron who fed
Sydney Reed on the left wing for an open three. Reed's shot circled around the rim and went in and out, keeping the Mansfield faithful on the edge of their seats. That's when
Ellie Thompson heated up, pulling down a couple of offensive boards and putting them back up to add to the Mountie lead.
With 4:54 left in the game, Kutztown called timeout to try and rally their troops. On their next possessions, Leonard denied a couple of Golden Bears at the hoop for her fifth and sixth blocks of the night, setting a new career-high. The sophomore center also grabbed 13 rebounds while tallying 14 points in a monster performance around the hoop. Her 14 points came on 6-for-10 shooting (60%) from the field and two free throws.
In the final minutes of play, Kutztown was unable to get any good looks at the hoop under the pressure of Mansfield's defense, leading to five missed shots for them down the stretch to close out the game.
Whitfield led all players with 15 points, all of which came from either behind the arc or from the free throw line. While connecting on six free throws, the guard also hit 38% of her 3-point attempts. On her 12
th point of the night, Whitfield eclipsed the 100 point mark on the season.
In addition to Leonard's game-high 13 rebounds, Cameron amassed 12 more boards, while
Ellie Thompson added six. Entering the game averaging 19.2 rebounds per game collectively and ranking in the Top-10, the trio smashed that mark against Kutztown on Wednesday night and will move up the conference leaderboard. Leonard now ranks second in the PSAC with 8.7rpg.
McKenzie Hatch added two rebounds and two assists, while Reed totaled a rebound and an assist.
Kira Merritt notched four points and freshman
Madison Mattas pulled down a rebound in the team's first victory of the season.
Derr was the only Golden Bear to score in double figures, but finished 4-of-21 from the floor. On top of just 12 field goals in the game (18.5% shooting), the Golden Bears were just 4-of-30 in the game from three (13.3%).
After a week full of preparations, despite a last-minute loss to Millersville this past weekend, the team has been much more fluid on the court. The chemistry is noticeably stronger, and the style of play has changed dramatically. Practice this week included the filming of
Drew Patrick's segment "Out Of His League." The episode will feature several drills that Mr. Patrick ran with the team in practice, and shows more of the behind-the-scenes interactions leading up to Wednesday's historic win. As a whole, the team's success this week can be attributed to the fun they are having together on the floor. "Out Of His League" will air this week on
Mounties Midweek.
The Mountaineers host Slippery Rock this Friday, January 18
th. Both the men's and women's games, which were originally scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 19, were moved up a day to avoid the impending snow storm threatening the region.
Tip-off for the women's game will be at 5 p.m. followed by the men's game at 7 p.m.
Live video on Mountie All-Access presented by Visit Potter-Tioga will be available at GoMounties.com and on the PSAC Network apps.
