SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Sophomore Lauren Gold hit a pair of free throws with 4.4 seconds remaining Saturday to lift the Shippensburg University women's basketball team past rival Kutztown, 68-66, in a back-and-forth PSAC Eastern Division contest on 'Play 4 Kay' Day inside Heiges Field House.
 
Shippensburg (16-9, 12-7 PSAC) clinched the No. 3 seed in the PSAC Eastern Division with the win and will host a PSAC First Round game on Saturday, Feb. 28.

Gold earned her late trip to the line after a frantic sequence that evened the game at 66-66. SU held a 65-63 lead before Kutztown (10-14, 9-11) senior guard Alyssa Bonenberger hit a three-pointer with 33 seconds remaining to put the Golden Bears up by one.
 
On the following SU possession, junior Stephanie Knauer earned a trip to the free-throw line and made her first attempt to tie the game before rimming out the second. Sophomore Morgan Griffith went up strong and pulled down a crucial rebound to give Gold a chance in the final seconds after she was fouled in the act of shooting.
 
After Gold's two makes, KU came down the floor and got off a clean shot. Natalya Lee's runner at the horn was too strong, giving SU its first win of the season in a game decided by three points or less.

The Golden Bears took an eight-point lead, their biggest of the day, at the 11:27 mark of the opening frame. With the game tied at 10-10, KU went on an 8-0 run before Shippensburg responded with a 12-0 run to take a 22-18 lead (its largest of the day) with 7:23 remaining in the half.
 
Kutztown took a 36-34 lead into the locker room at halftime. Saturday's win marks the first time the Raiders have been victorious this season when tied or trailing at halftime. Entering the game, SU was 0-7 in such contests.
 
In the first half alone, there were eight ties and nine lead changes. Overall there were 14 ties and 18 lead changes.
 
Griffith's rebound of Knauer's missed free throw that prefaced Gold's game-winning free throws clinched her 11th double-double of the season and third in the last four games. She totaled 11 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Sophomore Logan Snyder totaled 12 points, three rebounds and two steals. She has now posted double figures in each of the last seven games.
 
Gold finished with a team-high 15 points and three assists. Knauer tallied 12 points and eight rebounds while sophomore Colleen Young had 12 points, four rebounds and three steals.

The Raiders had a season-low seven turnovers and scored 24 points off 16 Kutztown turnovers.
 
Two of the top three rebounding teams in the conference entering the game, the squads predictably had a tightly-contested battle on the glass, as Kutztown ultimately held a 35-31 advantage. Entering the contest, each team averaged over 42 rebounds per game.
 
The lack of total combined rebounds was due in large part to the elevated shooting percentages from each team. Shippensburg shot 25-of-57 (43.9 percent) and Kutztown shot a season-best 27-of-52 (51.9 percent) from the field.
 
Shippensburg is at Millersville Wednesday for a 5:30 tip inside Pucillo Gymnasium.