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SHIPPENSBURG – Sophomore Jocelyn Ford (Lansing, NY/Lansing) hit back-to-back jumpers with under two minutes to play, and the Bloomsburg University women's basketball team made 14-of-15 free throws in the second half in a 66-58 victory over Shippensburg University Wednesday evening in a battle for first place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division at Heiges Field House.
 
Tied at 53 with 3:01 to play, the Huskies (17-5, 13-5 PSAC) ended the game on a 13-5 run while holding a 10-point, 65-55 lead with 19 seconds to play. 
 
“Tonight was two good teams going at each other knowing a lot was on the line,” Bloomsburg head coach Bill Cleary said.  “I think our experience really helped us in this one. I'm really proud of this group as they dug deep and did a great job against a great team.”
 
Sophomore Marla Simmons (Lebanon/Cedar Crest) made a layup to give Bloomsburg a 55-53 advantage in the final lead change of the game. Following a Shippensburg (16-7, 12-6) free throw, Ford made back-to-back jumpers to give Bloomsburg a five-point lead at 59-54 with 1:17 to play. It was Ford's only field goals of the game on her way to a six-point, seven-rebound effort.
 
“Jocelyn made some big shot down the stretch for us,” Cleary said. “I have a lot of confidence in her shot.”
 
Senior guard Dana Wieller (Bethlehem/Liberty) made her next six free throw attempts as Shippensburg continued to intentionally foul in the final minute to secure the Bloomsburg victory and snap Shippensburg's seven-game winning streak.
 
In the second half, Bloomsburg shot 14-for-15 (93.3 percent) from the free throw line and missed its only attempt with 10 seconds to play.  For the game, the Huskies were 20-for-24 from the charity stripe as the teams combined for 50 total fouls.
 
Bloomsburg's tenacious defense limited Shippensburg to 27.3 percent shooting from the field.  In the first meeting when BU defeated SU 70-40, Bloomsburg held Shippensburg to 28.3 percent shooting.
 
The Huskies remain in first place in the East with the win over the Raiders and have swept Shippensburg the last three seasons.  Wieller finished with a game-high 16 points for the Huskies including an 8-for-10 performance at the free throw line.   She also grabbed four rebounds with a pair of three-pointers.
 
Junior guard Catherine Noack (Bethlehem/Liberty) scored 12 points including some crucial layups and free throws down the stretch.
 
Lauren Ellis (Bangor/Bangor) tied her career-high with five blocks in 21 minutes on the floor. Ellis was plagued with foul trouble for most of the game and finished with a team-high seven rebounds in 21 minutes.
 
Senior point guard Alyssa Flanagan (Freeland/Hazleton Area) dished out a game-high five assists in the victory and scored seven points.
 
Despite the eight-point victory, the Huskies went in a scoring drought midway through the first half. After a Flanagan jumper at the 15:05 mark gave BU a 7-6 lead, Bloomsburg went nearly six minutes (5:54) without scoring.  Shippensburg went on a 9-0 run during the BU dry spell to take a 15-7 lead.
 
The Huskies responded with four unanswered and went on tie to the game at 17-17 following an Ellis three-point play at the 6:53 mark.
 
Fouls plagued the Huskies during the first 20 minutes.  Bloomsburg collected seven team fouls, two of which belonging to Flanagan, in the first 6:47 of play.
 
Wieller's three-pointer with 20 seconds left gave Bloomsburg a 27-25 lead and a 27-26 lead heading into halftime with a last second free throw by Shippensburg.
 
Bloomsburg's defense stepped up in the first half.  Entering the game as the top defensive team in the PSAC, BU held Shippensburg to 7-of-32 (22 percent) shooting in the first half. Ellis and Brianna Dudeck (Sugarloaf/Hazleton) each grabbed six rebounds in the first half as well.
 
Bloomsburg scored the first seven of the second half to take an eight-point, 34-26 lead.  The Raiders followed with a 14-5 run to retake the lead at 40-39 with 12:41 to play off a banked-in three-pointer by Alex Guilda.  The teams traded buckets for the majority of the game leading up to the late Bloomsburg run.
 
Shippensburg had three players finish in double figures. Raediah Lyles and Sarah Strybuc each scored a team-high 15, as Gildea finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.
 
Bloomsburg returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 16 when they travel to West Chester University in hopes of avenging a loss from earlier this season. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. in West Chester's 'Think Pink' game.