BLOOMSBURG – The 22nd-ranked Bloomsburg University women's basketball team continues its longest road trip of the season with a pair of Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover matchups.  The Huskies will play 15th-ranked Indiana (PA) and California (PA) on Dec. 18-19 with tipoff for both games set for 5:30 p.m.
 
Both games will be broadcast live on WHLM (930-AM) based out of Bloomsburg with Larry White calling all the action. In addition, listeners throughout the world can listen to the game live on BU's website at www.buhuskies.com. The pre-game show will begin 20 minutes before tipoff.
 
The Huskies (5-1, 2-1 PSAC) have built a great rivalry with the Crimson Hawks (6-1, 2-1).  Having played each other three times last season including two postseason games, Tuesday's nationally-ranked showdown should add an exciting chapter to the rivalry. 
 
Bloomsburg defeated IUP in the semifinals of the PSAC tournament last season to avenge a five-point setback it suffered to IUP on the road in the regular season. However, IUP has won three of the last four matchups and two of three last season as it issued Bloomsburg an early exit from the NCAA tournament with a one-point victory.
 
Both teams opened the season with extended winning streaks, but each are coming off their first loss of the season.  Bloomsburg suffered a 62-55 loss to Millersville on Dec. 8, and IUP lost to 10th-ranked Gannon, 69-58 as both teams had a 10-day layoff between games.
 
Bloomsburg senior guard Dana Wieller (Bethlehem/Liberty) has been a scoring machine against the Crimson Hawks in her career.  Including a 29-point effort last season, Wieller is averaging 21 points per game in her four games against IUP, nearly a five-point increase from her 16.3 average this season which rates second in the conference.
 
Wieller has thrived on not only hitting her open shots from long range, but using her talents to drive to the basket and get to the free throw line.  In her four games against IUP, she is 27-for-28 at the charity stripe for an eye-opening 96.4 percent. 
 
This season, Wieller is second is the PSAC in free throw shooting at 91.3 percent.  She is trailing fellow BU senior Kayla Oxenrider (Ashland/Tri-Valley)'s 94.1 percentage at the charity stripe. As a team, Bloomsburg leads the PSAC in free throw shooting at 74.8 percent.  It also ranks atop the conference in scoring (79.5) and is fifth in scoring defense.
 
A key to BU's semifinal victory last season was the play of Catherine Noack (Bethlehem/Liberty).  Now a junior guard in the starting rotation, Noack came off the bench last season and dropped a game-high 22 points while making all five of her three-point attempts.  This season, Noack chips in seven ppg and is shooting 25 percent from beyond the arc.
 
If the Huskies hope to pull out a victory, they are going to have to solve the Crimson Hawks' tenacious defense that leads the PSAC and is rated fifth in Division II.  They allow just 47.3 points per game and like Bloomsburg, holds an impressive turnover margin at +5.43. 
 
Four Crimson Hawks average double figures in scoring this season.  Sarah Pastorek leads the team at 12 per game along with 4.6 rebounds and a team-high 22 made free throws.  Also chipping in are Lindsay Stamp (10.9 ppg), Talen Watson (10.3), and Leslie Stapleton (10).
 
The Vulcans (5-1, 2-1) are also coming off their first loss of the season.  They lost by 19 to Edinboro, a team that Bloomsburg took down by 25 points earlier this season.  Cal will play Mansfield Tuesday night before the Huskies make their trip to Hamer Hall on Wednesday.
 
Cal's Ashley Hines not only leads the team in scoring, she is one of the most effective shooters in the country.  Hines is shooting a PSAC-leading 62.5 percent from the field for a 16.2 scoring average, the fourth-highest mark in the conference.  Even more impressive, she is doing her damage coming off the bench for the Vulcans is just 23 minutes per game.
 
BU took down Cal last season, 77-68, to break an eight-game skid in the series dating back to the 2002-03 season. 
 
After its pair of crossover games this week, Bloomsburg will take an 11-day break before taking on Philadelphia on Sunday, Dec. 30 at 2 p.m.