Ladies look to upset East-leading Marauders

What: Kutztown Golden Bears @ Millersville Marauders
When: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 @ 6 p.m.
Where: Puscillo Gymnasium on the campus of Millersville University

The Golden Bears have quite the challenge on their plates as they prepare to head to Millersville on Wednesday evening. Kutztown (11-13, 4-5) is coming off back-to-back wins for the first time since December, but will be going up against the PSAC East-leading Millersville (19-4, 8-0).

The Golden Bears currently hold the fourth and final playoff spot in the PSAC East. They trail Cheyney (6-3) by two full games for the three seed and lead East Stroudsburg (3-5) by one-half game for that final playoff spot.

The Marauders have already clinched a PSAC East playoff berth and are winners of nine straight games including a 65-40 beatdown of KU on Jan. 23 at Keystone Hall.

Both teams struggled out of the gate offensively in that game, with MU taking just a 24-19 advantage at the half. The Marauders exploded in the second half, however, outscoring KU 41-21. Jenna Craig and Gladine St. Julien dominated KU’s frontcourt, accounting for a combined 28 points and 19 rebounds. The Golden Bears actually outshot the Marauders from the field, but turned the ball over 25 times, were outrebounded by 11, and made a telling 19 less free throws.

Probable Starters:
Millersville:
F- # 3 – Jenna Craig
F- # 22 – Gladine St. Julien
G- # 30 – Kari Cover
G- # 32 – Jenna Philo
G- # 34 – Aiesha Bellamy

Kutztown:
C- # 53 – Mercedes Van Wagner
F- # 23 – Melissa McQuade
F- # 15 – Rachel Weidensaul
G- # 13 – Meredith Starr
G- # 5 – Lara Dellegrotti

Scouting Report:
The most glaring deficiency for KU in the teams’ first meeting was the lack of a front court presence. The Golden Bears played solid defense in the first half, but fell flat on their faces in the second half, allowing Millersville’s big scorers to dictate the game. As if it wasn’t bad enough that Craig and St. Julien were winning on their offensive end, they also shut down KU’s offensive attack, holding them to a season low 40 points.

The Golden Bears will need a stellar defensive showing from front court leaders Mercedes Van Wagner and Melissa McQuade. If the Golden Bears can slow down Craig and St. Julien and find a way to score the basketball, they can contend with this team.

With that all being said, MU is far from a 2-lady team, as they’ve had five different players lead them in scoring over their last six games. Ashley Moyer, Jenna Philo, and Kari Cover are also excellent scorers who can easily pave the way to victory for the Marauders.

It won’t be easy, but KU needs to play disciplined basketball and do several things better than they have if they want to keep this close. It will start by slowing down the Marauder scoring attack and will end with protecting the basketball and finding ways to get clean looks at the net. The Golden Bears gameplan should be similar to what has been working over the last few weeks. They need to pass the ball all over the floor until someone gets a clean look. KU has worked the ball around so well that they’ve been left open for wide open three pointers on multiple occasions. A big day from beyond the arc would keep them in the game and, if they play solid defense, would be a recipe for an upset.

Prediction:
KU has some confidence following back-to-back wins, but Millersville is a powerhouse in the PSAC and will not allow a KU upset on their court. The Golden Bears have the tools to pull off the shocker, but they need to do way too many things perfect to actually win the game. For a veteran team, I’d give them more of a shot here, but coach Malouf loves playing the underclassmen and that won’t change on Wednesday. The ladies will fall behind early and won’t be able to overcome the tough Puscillo Gymnasium environment.

Kutztown 53
Millersville 68