SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University women's basketball team could not overcome a second half scoring drought as it fell to Kutztown in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division contest Thursday at Heiges Field House, 64-54.
 
Shippensburg (1-15, 0-9 PSAC) got off to another strong start on its home court, shooting 58 percent from the field in the first quarter (7-for-12), and led by as many as six points against the Golden Bears in the first half.
 
Lauren Marton led the Raiders with 12 points. The freshman forward scored all of her points in the fourth quarter to register her third double-digit scoring performance of the season. Michelle Olak added 11 points, a team-high six rebounds and two blocked shots.
 
Kutztown (9-6, 5-3) outscored Shippensburg 12-to-6 during the decisive third quarter. Leila Hurley paced the Golden Bears with 14 points, while Jadyn Brenneman contributed 12 points and three assists off the bench.
 
SU scored eight of the first ten points to start the contest, including a trey from Melana Eyer and were even with the Golden Bears through one quarter of action, 17-17.
 
After SU's fast start, Kutztown – third in the PSAC in scoring defense entering Thursday – turned up the defense, holding the Raiders without a field goal in the last 4:57 of the second quarter to jump in front at halftime, 33-29.
 
An Olak paint basket trimmed the gap down to two to start the third before an 8-0 Golden Bear run. KU held Shippensburg without another field goal until a Marton lay-in with 3:11 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Raiders went 0-of-15 from the field and made nine free throws during that stretch.
 
Overall, the Golden Rams held the Raiders to just 26.1 percent from the floor (6-for-23) in the second half.
 
A late 6-0 Raider spurt fueled by Marton got the Raiders back to within six, 60-54, with 39 seconds remaining.
 
The Raiders outscored the Golden Bears in fastbreak points, 14-to-9. The two teams combined to shoot 53 free throws, including 22 in the fourth quarter. Shippensburg finished 19-of-28 (68%) from the line in the game.
 
The Raiders are back in action Saturday when they host East Stroudsburg for a Live Like Levi game at 1 p.m.