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Devils Rally for Thrilling Overtime Win at Kutztown
| Final | 1 | 2 | OT | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Univ. of the Sciences (2-2) | 32 | 36 | 10 | 78 |
| Kutztown (1-4) | 27 | 41 | 4 | 72 |
| Kutztown, Pa. (Keystone Arena) | ||||
| Univ. of the Sciences | Kutztown |
|---|---|
| Pts: Brianne Traub - 18 | Pts: WOOD, Ashley - 18 |
| Reb: Becca Ruggear - 16 | Reb: HODGSON, Avery - 13 |
| Ast: Kaitlyn Schmid - 5 | Ast: YORK, Aly - 6 |
| Team Statistics | Univ. of the Sciences | Kutztown |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goal % | 33.8% (26-77 ) | 41.9% (26-62 ) |
| Rebounds | 50 | 44 |
| Assists | 17 | 19 |
| Turnovers | 14 | 21 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 29 | 15 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 21 | 6 |
| Bench Pts | 18 | 16 |
The University of the Sciences Women's Basketball Team faced a steep uphill battle, trailing by four with 21 seconds against host Kutztown University Wednesday afternoon. The Devils however turned that steep uphill into a little bump as they rallied from the four point deficit and went on to defeat the Golden Bears 78-72 in overtime at Kutztown's Keystone Hall.
USciences improves to 2-2 with the win while Kutztown falls to 1-4.
Kutztown trailed 62-52 with 6:08 remaining in regulation before putting together a 14-2 run to take a 66-64 lead with 1:18 left and increased the margin to four 68-64 with just 21 ticks on the clock. At that point Becca Ruggear (Oxford Area HS/Oxford, Pa.) grabbed a rebound of a KU missed free throw and eight seconds later brought the Devils within two 68-66 with 13.2 seconds left. Elsebeth Birman (St. John's College HS/Silver Spring, Md.) snatched an errant pass from KU's Ashley Wood (18 points) with eight seconds left and dished it to Jessica Sylvester (Nazarath Academy/Trevose, Pa.) for a potential game winning three. Sylvester's shot was off the mark but Birman was right there for the putback to even the score at 68-68 and force the overtime.
Ruggear scored the Devils first five points of the extra period, giving the Devils a 73-70 lead with 1:36 left. Avery Hodgson's (15 points, 13 rebounds) bucket with 37 seconds left brought the Golden Bears back within one before Isabella Ross (Central High School/Philadelphia, Pa.) grabbed the offensive board off Sarah Hickman's (Wilmington Christian School/Newark, Del.) miss and put back through the hoop for a 75-72 Devils lead with 20 seconds left on the clock. Hickman then stole the inbounds pass and was promptly fouled. The senior guard made both free throws and the devils led by five 77-72 with 16.8 seconds left. KU failed to score and Hickman was again fouled. She made the second of two free throws to give the Devils their final margin of victory 78-72.
Brianne Traub (Eastern Christian HS/Wayne, N.J.) led all scorers with 18 points (9-10 FT) while Ruggear finished the game with 14 points (all in the second half and overtime) and a career-high 16 rebounds (7 off the offensive glass). Carolyn Edwards (St. Basil's Academy/Huntington Valley, Pa.) and Sylvester added 17 and 12 points respectively. Kaitlyn Schmid (Howell Area HS/Howell, N.J.) came off the bench to record five assists while Birman had four steals. This was Ruggear's second double-double in four games this season.
It was Edwards' and Sylvester's three-point field goal prowess that sparked the Devils to overcome a seven point first half deficit to take a five point lead at the break, 32-27. USciences trailed 17-10 with 12:17 left in the period before a 12-4 run over the next six minutes produced their first lead of the game 22-21 with 6:14 left. Sylvester had a pair of 3-balls during the run. Two free throws by KYU's Steph Zewe reversed the lead but the Devils closed out the period with a 10-4 run to lead by five at the break. Edwards (7) and Sylvester (3) scored all the points in the Devils' final run of the period.
The Devils doubled their margin to ten on two occasions, the first on a Ruggear layup at the 12:18 mark making the score 49-39 and the second some six minutes later on two free throws from Traub, making the score 62-52 before the rallies began.
Both teams made 26 field goals with the Devils taking 15 more shots to shoot 33.8% (26-77) to KU's 41.9% (26-62). USciences had another solid effort from the charity stripe, making 18 of 23 shots (78.3%) while the Golden Bears connected on just 14 of 20 (70%). The Devils eight three-pointers were greater than the total in their previous three games combined (7). USciences also held a 50-44 advantage on the glass (including 19-9 mark on the offensive side leading to a 21-6 advantage in second chance points. The Devils also did a better job of protecting the ball committing just 14 turnovers (17 assists) to KU's 21 (19 assists). They also had 15 steals (also greater than their first three games combined (14)).
The Devils return to action on Saturday when they will face Villanova University on the Main Line. Tipoff is at 2:00 p.m. at The Pavilion on Villanova's campus.
