KUTZTOWN - In the final game of the season series with the number two ranked team in the PSAC East, the Mansfield Mountaineers women's basketball team was unable to sweep in a road contest at Kutztown on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Erin Gibbons scored a team-high 18 points, but the Golden Bears were too much on their home court, taking the victory 90-58.

The start of Saturday's game showed great potential to come down to the wire.  Mia Leonard found Ellie Thompson under the hoop to put Mansfield ahead in the first possession. Thompson returned the favor with an assist to Leonard on their next trip up the court. After Rylee Derr hit a free throw to put Kutztown on the board, Erin Gibbons pushed the ball up the court through the Golden Bears' press. She then hit a turnaround jumper from the right side to put MU up 6-1.  That's when Kutztown went off. 

Karen Lapkiewicz scored 14 of her 18 points in the first quarter to help fuel a Golden Bears run, who hit five of their first 11 3-pointers on the night. KU went on an 11-0 run over three minutes of play in the second quarter.  Kutztown then closed out the half on a 12-2 run, finishing the first twenty minutes while shooting 64.7% from behind the arc for 11 3-pointers made. 

In addition to Lapkiewicz's 18 points, KU was fired up behind the efforts of Kaylan Jackson. The junior guard recorded career-highs of 23 points and six 3-pointers made. Four of those six 3-pointers were made in the first half, which she finished 4-for-4 from behind the arc. Four players in total hit double digits in scoring for Kutztown. 

Mansfield's 30 turnovers translated to 34 points off of turnovers for the Golden Bears. Both teams shot over 50% from the field, which was a significant increase from their previous meeting. Mansfield shot 52.4% from the floor and outrebounded Kutztown 31-24.

In addition to scoring the team-high 18 points, Gibbons dished out three assists, grabbed two rebounds, and came up with a steal. Leonard added another 16 points, but was riddled with foul trouble early on. 

Paige Whitfield and Ellie Thompson both recorded seven points to go with three assists apiece. Sophomore Noelle Cameron was just two points shy of a double-double; she pulled down the game-high of 10 rebounds. 

The Mounties next travel to Salem on Wednesday, facing the Tigers at 5 p.m. in their final road game of a four match set. They then host Shippensburg on Saturday, February 23rd for a 1 p.m. Senior Day game.