SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Sophomore Abbie Miller scored a career-high 20 points on Wednesday night as the Shippensburg University women's basketball team defeated Kutztown, 72-55, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Quarterfinal at Heiges Field House.
 
Shippensburg (24-5) forced Kutztown (15-15) to commit its second-most turnovers of the season with 23. The Raider defense was key in the victcory as it tied its season-high 13 steals and only committed 10 turnovers. Senior Ariel Jones led the team with 23 points, her 18th 20+ points this season, and a team-high five assists. She also added five rebounds and was 5-of-7 from the free-throw line.
 
Miller stepped up big with her first 20-point game and committed no turnovers. She also added three steals, four rebounds and two assists while staying perfect in the line (3-of-3).
 
Junior Treasure George was active with 12 points, four assists, two steals and two rebounds. It is George's 20th game in double figures this season.  
 
Graduate guard Erin Gibbons had the team's highest plus-minus with +20 on the court and stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, three rebounds, three assists.  
 
Graduate Lauren Pettis was key on the floor as she grabbed seven boards and had two blocks. She also added seven points, two assists and one steal. Freshman Makayla Foddrell added two points and two rebounds.
 
Kutztown scored 17 points off turnovers while its bench made 22 points. The Raiders held the Golden Bears to its lowest steals with two. Naia Pulliam led the Golden bears with 12 points. KU was held to
 
How it happened:
Shippensburg dominated the first quarter after scoring the game's first two points after two minutes of play. After the game was tied at 2-2, the Raiders went on an 11-2 run, including a Jones' bucket and an and-1, and a Gibbons three. The Golden Bears committed seven turnovers and only made six points in 10 minutes of play.
 
In the second quarter, Kutztown turned it around and went on a 17-2 run to take the 25-23 lead with 3:32 left to go. Shippensburg had its lowest-shooting quarter, going 4-of-13 in the field, but a late surge by the Raiders with less than two minutes to go gave SU a three-point lead going into halftime.
 
At the start of the second half, SU went on a 6-0 run and never allowed KU to tie or take the lead in the second half. SU went 11-of-15 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line in the third quarter to secure a 15-point lead entering the fourth quarter.
 
In the fourth quarter, SU extended its lead with a 7-3 run and had its highest lead of the night of 18 points at the 3:22 mark.
 
With the win, Shippensburg will finish the year with a 14-1 record at Heiges Field House, matching its home record from the 2019-20 season.
 
Shippensburg will face Gannon, the PSAC West No. 1 seed and host of the PSAC Final Four, at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Gannon's Highmark Events Center.