BLOOMSBURG – The Bloomsburg women's basketball team returns from the winter break and opens 2014 competition with a pair of Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover contests at Nelson Field House vs. Clarion and Pitt-Johnstown.

The Huskies (7-3) host Clarion (4-5) on Friday afternoon in a special 1 p.m. weekday matinee. Bloomsburg nearly toppled No. 2 Gannon in its last time out, falling 65-63 on a last-second shot by the unbeaten Golden Knights. Clarion, meanwhile, headed into the break with an 85-79 win over Lock Haven.

Saturday afternoon brings another home matchup at 1 p.m., this time against PSAC newcomer Pitt-Johnstown (5-6). The Mountain Cats closed their 2013 with a 103-73 triumph vs. Mansfield.
 
TWEETABLES (Huskies facts in 140 characters or less)
-Pitt-Johnstown ranks second in the PSAC in offense at 82.1 ppg, while Bloomsburg allows only 64.2 ppg.

-Bloomsburg leads the PSAC and ranks 15th in the country in field goal percentage at 47.1% for the year.

-Opponents average 21.2 turnovers against the Huskies defense through the first 10 games.

-Senior Catherine Noack (Bethlehem/Liberty) has 952 career points entering Friday. Noack averages 18.8 ppg this season.

-The Huskies had 18 assists vs. Gannon. BU has handed out 18 or more assists five times and average 18.9 per game.

-Freshman Morgan Klunk (Felton/York Catholic) set career highs for points (14), 3's (2) and steals (3) vs. Gannon last time out.
 
GUARDING THE PERIMETER
Bloomsburg has surrendered only 39 3-pointers on the year to opponents. Among all PSAC teams playing 10 or more games so far, only three (Pitt-Johnstown, 34; East Stroudsburg, 35; IUP, 37) have allowed fewer.
 
BU PSAC PLAYER RANKINGS
-Catherine Noack (Bethlehem/Liberty) ranks fourth in the PSAC at 18.8 points per game.
-Noack also stands second in 3-point field goal percentage (47.2 percent), fifth in overall field goal percentage (54 percent) and is also second in 3-pointers per game (3.4).
-Maggie Borski (Philadelphia/Nazareth Academy) is third in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.0) and ninth in assists (3.9 apg).
-Jocelyn Ford (Lansing, NY/Lansing) is seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6) and 20th in assists (3.3 apg).
-Adreana Sadowski (Fleetwood/Brandywine Heights) is eighth in blocks per game (1.1/game).

SCOUTING CLARION
Clarion wrapped up before the holiday break with an 85-79 victory over Lock Haven on Dec. 21, with Emma Fickel tallying 20 points to lead the way.

The Golden Eagles were selected to finish sixth in the PSAC East Preseason Coaches Poll after making the conference playoffs with a 13-16 record including a 9-13 PSAC mark a year ago. 
 
Clarion is led by outstanding junior forward Hannah Heeter who averaged a double-double in each of her first two seasons with Clarion. She got a late start to the basketball season, not playing until Dec. 14 because she also is a standout on Clarion's volleyball team which made a run to the NCAA Tournament once again this year.
 
Three Golden Eagles are averaging double figure scoring - Fickel (14.2 ppg), Kelly Johnson (14.1 ppg) and Heeter (13.8 ppg).
 
SCOUTING PITT-JOHNSTOWN
The Mountain Cats started the season slow, opening at 1-5 but finished 2013 on a hot streak, winning four of five games including PSAC crossover wins vs. Kutztown and at Mansfield. A year removed from a 14-12 season in their final campaign in the WVIAC, the Mountain Cats are in their first season playing as members of the PSAC with a spot in the Western Division.

Selected to finish eighth in the PSAC West preseason coaches' poll, the Mountain Cats are used to high scoring games - they average 82.1 points and allow an average of 83 points to opponents through their first 11 games. 
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. CLARION
Bloomsburg leads, 18-12
The Huskies have won the last three meetings over Clarion, winning at CU, 79-48, in 2010 before scoring a 75-68 road win in January 2012 and a 79-53 victory at Nelson Field House last year on Jan. 12, 2013. In the last meeting, BU drilled 17 3-pointers and put the game out of reach early in the second half with a 56-29 advantage. The 17 3's were just one shy of the school record and came on 32 attempts (53.1 percent). Dana Wieller (Bethlehem/Liberty) had a game-high 22 points while Catherine Noack (Bethlehem/Liberty) added 12. Hannah Heeter paced the Golden Eagles with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. PITT-JOHNSTOWN
Pitt-Johnstown leads, 9-2
Pitt-Johnstown joined the PSAC on July 1, 2013, beginning PSAC play this fall after having membership in the now disbanded West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The two schools met sparingly in past years, with the Mountain Cats owning the short series. The last meeting between schools in women's basketball came on Feb. 18, 2006, when Pitt-Johnstown registered a 57-46 win at Nelson Field House.