RELEASE DATE: 1/29/05

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MOUNTAINEERS DROP 74-73 DOUBLE OT DECISION AT KUTZTOWN – TAGLIAFERRI SCORES A GAME HIGH 23

KUTZTOWN – After twice sending the game into overtime with last second shots, the magic final ran out for the Mansfield University women’s basketball when Laura Scordino’s long shot at the buzzer fell just short in a thrilling, but heartbreaking, 74-73 double overtime loss to Kutztown in a PSAC East contest Saturday afternoon in Keystone Hall.

In an incredible battle, the Mountaineers first sent the game into overtime on a driving layup by Steph Rieser and into a second overtime on a layup by Scordino, both with one second remaining on the game clock.

The first half was a game of runs with Kutztown jumping out to a 7-0 lead in the first three minutes. Mansfield went on a counter run, breaking up a 15-15 tie at the 10:08 mark to take a 33-20 lead on a free throw by Alison Tagliaferri with 1:34 remaining in the half, before Kutztown’s Jess Brady scoring the final eight points of the half, including a desperation heave at the buzzer to cut the score to 33-28 at intermission.

Kutztown went on an 8-0 run over the first three minutes of the second half to take the lead before the game settled into a nail biter with eight lead changes or ties.

Kutztown would build a 59-54 advantage with five minutes to play, but the Mountaineers would home them without another field goal and tie the game with :01 when Rieser sliced through the middle to hit a layup ending regulation with a 60-60 tie.

The Mountaineers, who were already playing without starting shooting guard Alicia Espigh who suffered an injury in the shoot around on Friday night, lost Jessica Uhrich to fouls a minute and a half into overtime.

Trailing 66-62 with 2:46 to go, the MU defense again answered the bell holding Kutztown without a field goal for the remainder of the overtime period. Down 66-64, Scordino hit a layup with one second remaining the send the game into double overtime.

Rieser gave the Mountaineers a 68-66 lead to start the second overtime, but committed her fifth foul one minutes later. Kutztown built a 72-68 lead with 2:39 to play before Scordino hit a critical 3-pointer and a Tagliaferri layup gave MU a 73-72 led with 1:36 to go. Kutztown’s Brooke Martin hit two free throws with 1:20 to play to retake the lead but neither team could score before Scordino’s last second shot.

Four Mountaineers played more than 40 minutes with Tagliaferri recording a double-double with a game high 23 points and 10 rebounds. She also had three blocked shots. Scordino played an outstanding game, scoring a career high 19 points with seven assists and three steals. Stephanie Rieser also had a double-double with 14 points and a career best 15 rebounds.

Tagliaferri moved into 3^rd place in career scoring passing former teammate Allyson Buss (99-03, 1174) with 1,196 points. Rieser vaulted into 10^th place on the career scoring list with 939 points.

Kutztown won the game at the foul line, hitting 15-of-20 attempts to Mansfield’s 6-of-11. Jess Brady scored 19 points to lead Kutztown.

It marked the second straight year the two teams have going into double overtime with Mansfield recording an 82-78 win at Decker Gymnasium last season.

Newspaper Box Score

Mansfield vs Kutztown

01-29-05 1:00 PM at Kutztown, PA - Keystone Arena

At Kutztown, PA - Keystone Arena

KUTZTOWN 74, MANSFIELD 73

MANSFIELD (6-11, 1-3 PSAC E)

TAGLIAFERRI, Alison 10-23 3-6 23; SCORDINO, Laura 7-17 2-2 19; RIESER,

Stephanie 7-16 0-1 14; UHRICH, Jessica 3-9 1-1 8; TAYLOR, Tiffany 2-6 0-1 4;

PLANK, Tiffany 1-4 0-0 3; ROSS, Christine 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 31-79 6-11 73.

KUTZTOWN (9-9, 2-2 PSAC E)

BRADY, Jess 5-14 7-8 19; MARTIN, Brooke 6-14 3-4 17; VAN WAGNER, Mercedes

5-11 5-8 15; WEIDENSAUL, Rachel 4-17 0-0 10; BAINBRIDGE, Megan 3-10 0-0 7;

BOYKINS, Monique 2-7 0-0 4; REYNA, Lisi 1-1 0-0 2; DUDECK, Trish 0-3 0-0 0;

HARLOR, Katie 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-78 15-20 74.

Mansfield.....................   33   27    6    7  -   73

Kutztown......................   28   32    6    8  -   74

3-point goals-Mansfield 5-17 (SCORDINO, Laura 3-9; PLANK, Tiffany 1-3;

UHRICH, Jessica 1-1; TAYLOR, Tiffany 0-1; RIESER, Stephanie 0-3), Kutztown

7-15 (MARTIN, Brooke 2-3; WEIDENSAUL, Rachel 2-5; BRADY, Jess 2-3;

BAINBRIDGE, Megan 1-4). Fouled out--Mansfield-RIESER, Stephanie; UHRICH,

Jessica, Kutztown-None. Rebounds-Mansfield 50 (RIESER, Stephanie 15),

Kutztown 57 (VAN WAGNER, Mercedes 12). Assists-Mansfield 16 (SCORDINO, Laura

7), Kutztown 19 (WEIDENSAUL, Rachel 5). Total fouls-Mansfield 19, Kutztown

17. A-508