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KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- Sophomore guard Julie Molloy scored a game-high 20 points in a losing cause Tuesday night as The Rock dropped a 67-60 decision at Kutztown in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference "crossover" action.
Molloy was one of three players to record a double-digit scoring total for The Rock (4-4). Sophomore guard Nikki Presto added 11 points, seven rebounds and two steals, while sophomore post player Haley Gaidosh chipped in 10 points. Junior guard Amanda Nero had eight points and three assists. Senior post player KellyAnn Staudinger added six rebounds.
The Rock jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first two minutes of action before Kutztown evened the count at 5-5 with 16:37 left in the first half. The teams battled on even terms for the next seven minutes and were tied at 15-15 before the hosts rode an 18-5 run in the final nine and a half minutes to a 33-20 halftime advantage.
The Golden Bears (6-3) held a 15-point, 53-38, lead with 9:20 left in the game before The Rock roared back to make it a game. SRU scored 11 unanswered points in the span of four and a half minutes to trim the deficit to four points (53-49) with 4:45 left to play, only to see Kutztown close with a 12-5 run.
The Rock shot an icy 28% (7 of 25) from the floor in the first half before hitting a red-hot 51.7% (15 of 29) in the final 20 minutes to finish with a 40.7% efficiency.
SRU was 10 of 12 (83.3%) from the foul line and hit 28.6% (6 of 21) from 3-point range.
SRU returns to action at 6 p.m. Wednesday, when it will visit East Stroudsburg for another interdivisional contest.
Tuesday's game was the first of five straight road contests The Rock will play before hosting Cheyney in a "crossover" game Jan. 6 in Morrow Field House.
After visiting East Stroudsburg, The Rock will play two games in the Surf 'N Slam San Diego Hoop Classic in California (Dec. 28-29) and travel to Erie to play Gannon in a Jan. 3 non-conference game before hosting Cheyney.
