Women's Basketball | 12/18/2015 4:19:00 PM

BLOOMSBURG (6-3, 3-3 PSAC East) vs MANSFIELD (3-6, 1-6 PSAC East)
Saturday, December 19, 2015 - 3:00 p.m.
Bloomsburg, Pa. | Nelson Field House

GAME NOTES:
Bloomsburg vs Mansfield Game Notes

GAME COVERAGE:
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/bloomu/wbball/
Live Audio (WHLM-AM): http://www.whlmam.com

RELATED LINKS:
Bloomsburg - Roster | Schedule | Statistics
Mansfield - Roster | Schedule | Statistics

A LOOK BACK ...
Bloomsburg suffered a 91-74 loss at West Chester on Wednesday night to fall to 6-3 overall and 3-3 in the PSAC East. The Huskies lead the overall series, 38-34, over the Golden Rams. It was Bloomsburg's second consecutive loss after starting the season with a 6-1 record.

VS. WEST CHESTER (12-16) ...
Bloomsburg had four players in double figures, but turned the ball over 24 times which led to 38 West Chester points as the Golden Rams defeated the Huskies, 91-74, in West Chester. The Golden Rams led by two after one period but then outscored Bloomsburg, 31-15, in the second quarter to blow the game open. Mia Hopkins (Pittston/Pittston Area) led the Huskies with 22 points on 9-of-15 from the field. It was, however, her second consecutive game without a double-double as she finished with seven rebounds. Freshman Julia Gantz (Havertown/Archbishop John Carroll) had her best game in a Bloomsburg uniform, posting 18 points on 6-of-11 from the field. She also went 4-of-7 from long distance - she entered the game having made only 3-of-16. Morgan Klunk (Felton/York Catholic) (11) and Adreana Sadowski (Fleetwood/Brandywine Heights) (10) also registered double figures.

THE MANSFIELD SERIES ...
Bloomsburg leads the all-time series against Mansfield, 58-10, including a pair of victories last season. Bloomsburg defeated Mansfield, 91-45, at Nelson Field House on February 14 - exactly one month after earning an 85-45 win at Mansfield. The Huskies have won the last 15 meetings between the two schools. The last win by Mansfield came on February 4, 2009 - a 52-46 win over Bloomsburg at Decker Gymnasium in Mansfield.

LAST SEASON AGAINST MANSFIELD ...
Bloomsburg traveled to Mansfield on January 14, 2015, and took care of the Mountaineers by an 85-45 final at Decker Gymnasium. The Huskies outscored Mansfield, 43-23, in the first half and 42-22 in the second to earn the victory. Adreana Sadowski (Fleetwood/Brandywine Heights) led a balanced scoring attack with 15 points while also adding a team-high six rebounds. Camden Boehner (Gettysburg/Gettysburg Area) (14) and Morgan Klunk (Felton/York Catholic) (10) also recorded double figures. Eleven different Huskies scored at least two points in the victory. Bloomsburg shot a whopping 52.6% from three-point range (10-of-19) and forced Mansfield into 29 turnovers. Melanie Taylor was the only Mountaineer in double figures as she finished with 12.

The Huskies completed the season sweep of the Mountaineers with a 91-45 win on February 14, 2015 at Nelson Field House. Bloomsburg jumped out to a 46-18 lead at halftime and never looked back. It proved to be the 20th win of the season for the Huskies - the program's fifth straight season of at least 20 victories. Adreana Sadowski (Fleetwood/Brandywine Heights) again led a balanced attack with 15 points while also adding seven boards. Jocelyn Ford (Lansing, NY/Lansing) (14), Marla Simmons (Lebanon/Cedar Crest) (13), and Morgan Klunk (Felton/York Catholic) (10) also reached double digits. Simmons chipped in with a team-high eight rebounds. All twelve players who saw action scored at least two points in the victory. Mansfield, which shot just 25.9% from the field for the game, was led by Brielle Kelly's 13 points.
 
SCOUTING MANSFIELD ...
Mansfield enters Saturday's contest with a 3-6 overall record and a 1-6 mark in conference play. The Mountaineers are on a four-game slide and have not won since recording an 88-61 victory over Penn State Brandywine on November 28. Mansfield last played on Wednesday, December 16, and dropped a 77-56 decision at Shippensburg. Katie Fitzpatrick leads the Mountaineers in scoring, averaging 19.0 points per game - third in the PSAC. She also leads the team in rebounding (6.8) and assists (4.1). Brielle Kelly is next, contributing 12.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest. Becky Evans also averages in double figures, posting 11.6 points per game. The Mountaineers average 70.0 points per game on offense but allow a league-worst 76.2 points defensively. Mansfield shoots only 41.7% from the field, 29.6% from long distance, and 69.6% from the foul line. Only Fitzpatrick shoots better than 50% from the field (56.5%) and only Evans has made more than ten three-pointers (13) this season.

GANTZ HEATING UP ...
Freshman Julia Gantz (Havertown/Archbishop John Carroll) is on a hot streak and is giving Bloomsburg another offensive scoring threat as the second half of the season approaches. After starting the season with just 14 points in her first five games (2.8 points per game), Gantz was moved to the bench but has thrived in that role by averaging 10.0 points and 3.0 rebounds over the last four contests. She is coming off a career-high 18 points in the loss at West Chester on Wednesday. The game prior, Gantz reached double figures for the first time in her career with 10 points in a loss against Gannon on December 5. In her first five games, Gantz was 6-of-30 from the field (.200) and 2-of-9 from long distance (.222). Over her last four contests, Gantz is 13-of-35 from the field (.371) and 5-of-14 from three-point range (.357). She nailed four triples on Wednesday against West Chester - she entered the game with three makes through her first eight games.

HUSKIES SEVENTH IN ATLANTIC REGION ...
Bloomsburg enters the contest ranked seventh in the Atlantic Region according to the latest Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) media poll released on Monday. The Huskies received 23 points in the regional poll, down from the 27 points they received last week. West Liberty leads the rankings with all six first-place votes and 60 total points. California (PA) is right behind with 54 total points.

Bloomsburg is also receiving votes in the latest USA Today Sports Top 25 Division II Women's Basketball Coaches' Poll released Tuesday. The Huskies received two total points in the latest rankings, down from the 10 they received a week prior. Fort Hays State received 16 first-place votes and is tops in the country according to the coaches' poll. The Huskies, however, are not receiving votes in the D2SIDA Media Poll. Fort Hays State became the new top-ranked team in the country according to the media poll.

TURNOVERS COSTLY ...
Bloomsburg struggled to hang on to the basketball against West Chester on Wednesday and it proved to be costly for the Huskies. Bloomsburg turned the ball over 24 times which led to 38 West Chester points during the Huskies' 91-74 loss to the Golden Rams. Bloomsburg did everything else pretty well - it shot 50% from the field (27-of-54), shot 77.8% from the foul line (14-of-18), and outrebounded West Chester, 30-28. The difference was the points off turnovers category - West Chester had a sizeable advantage there, 38-9. Over nine games, the Huskies are averaging 19.4 turnovers per game which has led to an average of 18.9 points off turnovers for their opponents.

HOPKINS AMONG BEST ...
Junior Mia Hopkins (Pittston/Pittston Area) has taken the league by storm through the opening month of the regular season. She ranks in the top ten in the PSAC in a number of categories, including points per game (second), rebounds per game (second), double-doubles (first), assists per game (tied for tenth), steals per game (first), and minutes per game (seventh). She is also 11th in the PSAC in free throw percentage (81.8%) and tied for 12th in blocks per game (1.1). In the country, Hopkins is tied for fifth in double-doubles, 12th in rebounds, 18th in steals, and 26th in scoring.

STARTERS PROVIDING THE SCORING ...
Through nine games, Bloomsburg is getting most of its offensive production from its five starters - juniors Mia Hopkins (Pittston/Pittston Area), Morgan Klunk (Felton/York Catholic), and Alex Ross (Lancaster/Manheim Township); redshirt senior Adreana Sadowski (Fleetwood/Brandywine Heights); and a combination of freshmen Alyssa Mack (Walnutport/Allentown Central Catholic) and Julia Gantz (Havertown/Archbishop John Carroll). Mack has started each of the last five games (once for Sadowski who missed the University of the Sciences game with an illness) while Gantz started the first five.

The Huskies' bench has scored just a total of 105 points in nine games - an average of 11.7 points per game. The bench has provided 16.6% of the team's scoring. The leading scorer off the bench, not including Mack or Gantz, is junior Kristie Costantino (Norristown/Archbishop John Carroll) who is averaging 3.7 points per game this season. In comparison, the opponents' bench has scored 142 points in eight games (15.8 points per game) - 22.5% of the opponents' point total this season.

IMPRESSIVE CAREER ...
Redshirt senior Adreana Sadowski (Fleetwood/Brandywine Heights) is putting together a fine career in a Bloomsburg uniform. Chosen as a preseason All-PSAC East selection, Sadowski ranks third on the team in scoring (11.9 ppg), second on the team in rebounding (6.6 rpg), and tops in blocked shots (1.6 bpg). She is tied for 19th in the PSAC in rebounding, second in the conference (20th in the country) in field goal percentage at 58.6%, and tied for fourth in the league in blocks per game. All told, Sadowski needs 117 points to join the 1,000-point club - Catherine Noack was the last player to score at least 1,000 points, joining the club during the 2013-14 campaign. Sadowski now has 136 career blocks in a Husky uniform - third on the program's all-time list.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE ...
Junior Mia Hopkins (Pittston/Pittston Area) could not have asked for a better start to her Bloomsburg University career. In nine career games with the Huskies, Hopkins has posted seven double-doubles, which is currently tops in the PSAC and tied for fifth in the country. She opened the season with seven consecutive double-doubles but saw her streak end in a loss to Gannon on December 5 when she finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. She fell short of a double-double on Wednesday, posting 22 points, but only grabbing seven rebounds.  

FIRST TIME IN A WHILE ...
Junior Mia Hopkins (Pittston/Pittston Area) scored 13 points and pulled down a season-high 16 rebounds in the win over the University of the Sciences on November 29. The 16 rebounds were the first time that a Bloomsburg player had at least 15 boards in a game since Colleen Kegerreis pulled down 15 in a 71-70 loss against Cheyney on Janaury 14, 2009. Hopkins recorded another 16-rebound effort against Mercyhurst on December 4.

TOO MANY SECOND CHANCES ...
Through the first five games of the season, Bloomsburg had outrebounded its opponents in four of those contests and was tied in rebounds in the other. However, in the three-game stretch against East Stroudsburg, Mercyhurst, and Gannon, the Huskies were outrebounded in all three games and really struggled in allowing multiple chances for the opponents to score. The Warriors, Lakers, and Lady Knights pulled down 64 offensive rebounds during the three-game stretch (21.3 per game), including 26 by Mercyhurst in Bloomsburg's double overtime victory over the Lakers on December 4. Fortunately for the Huskies, the opposition only averaged 11 second-chance points in the three games. Bloomsburg has now been outrebounded 364-357 for the season but has allowed 136 opponents' offensive rebounds (15.1 per game). In comparison, the Huskies have 98 offensive boards (10.9) in nine games. The Huskies showed a drastic improvement on Wednesday, outrebounding West Chester, 30-28, and allowing only nine offensive boards to the Golden Rams.

THREE-POINT STRUGGLES ...
Bloomsburg enters Saturday's contest ranked 16th out of 18 teams in the PSAC in three-point field goal percentage, making just 45 of its 172 long range attempts (26.2%). Bloomsburg averages only 5.0 three-pointers per game thus far with freshman Alyssa Mack (Walnutport/Allentown Central Catholic) leading the way with 11. Alex Ross (Lancaster/Manheim Township) is next with ten makes. However, Mack is just 11-of-45 from beyond the arc (24.4%). Ross leads the team in percentage, going 10-of-30 (33.3%). In fact, only Ross (33.3%) and Gantz (30.4%) are shooting over thirty percent from long distance among players with more then ten attempts this season.

ROSS RISING TO THE OCCASION ...
Junior Alex Ross (Lancaster/Manheim Township) is taking advantage of a significant increase in playing time this season. Ross scored a career-high 18 points in the 62-61 win over University of the Sciences on November 29, going 9-of-12 from the field in the process. She added 13 points, five rebounds, and a career-high five assists in the victory over East Stroudsburg on December 1 and then recorded her first career double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds) in the loss to Gannon on December 5. She has now reached double figures in scoring in six of the nine games so far this season. Prior to her output against U. Sciences, she scored her previous highs of 11 against both New Haven and Goldey-Beacom. She averaged 1.0 point and 1.1 rebounds as a freshman and then 1.2 points and 1.7 rebounds last season. This season, she is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 10.3 points per game, is fourth in rebounding at 5.4 boards per contest, and is third in assists per game (2.4). She has easily established career-highs in all three categories.

NO KLUNK-ER HERE ...
While Hopkins has been getting much of the spotlight, junior Morgan Klunk (Felton/York Catholic) has put together a fine start to her 2015-16 season. She ranks second on the team in scoring (13.2), third on the team in rebounding (5.6), and second on the team in assists (3.0). She is also fifth in the conference in field goal percentage, knocking down 45 of her 80 shot attempts for a 56.3% clip.

MACK ATTACK ...
For the second time this season, freshman Alyssa Mack (Walnutport/Allentown Central Catholic) was named the PSAC East Freshman of the Week as announced by the league office on Monday, December 7. She helped lead the Huskies to a 2-1 record during the week by averaging 8.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.7 steals in the three contests. In the win over East Stroudsburg on December 1, Mack had nine points and tied her career-highs in assists (2) and steals (2). She added six points and a career-high three steals in the win over Mercyhurst on December 4 and then tied a career-high with 11 points and three triples in the loss to Gannon on December 5. Mack leads all Bloomsburg freshmen in scoring averaging 7.8 points per game. She leads the team with 11 three-pointers and is third on the team with ten steals. She earned her first Freshman of the Week honors on November 23 after averaging 9.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in wins at Goldey-Beacom and Seton Hill and a loss at California (PA). She reached double figures in scoring in two of those three games.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE ...
Bloomsburg will host the University of Philadelphia on Wednesday, December 30, at Nelson Field House. It will mark the final non-conference game of the season for the Huskies. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.