Box Score (HTML)

WEST CHESTER, Pa. – A ferocious 38-14 run erased what was a 19-point deficit as the Bloomsburg University women's basketball team fought back from a deep second half hole. In the end, though, it was West Chester that mounted the final charge, with the Golden Rams upsetting the 16th-ranked Huskies in overtime, 93-88, at Hollinger Fieldhouse on Wednesday night.

The loss snaps three impressive Huskies winning streaks – Bloomsburg sees its overall (12), road (20) and PSAC East (24) win streaks all come to a close. The Huskies fall to 19-3 overall and 16-2 in PSAC play while West Chester improves to 19-4, 15-4 and keeps the race for the top seed in the PSAC East alive.

Wednesday's game looked as though it wouldn't be nearly as interesting as it turned out to be.

West Chester could do little wrong in the first half, scoring the most points of any Huskies opponent in a period of play this year by taking a 46-36 lead into halftime after shooting 18-of-36 from the floor.

The Golden Rams remained hot to start the second period, opening up a 57-38 cushion at the 16:46 mark following a layup from Chikisha Steele-Hook.

Bloomsburg would not go away quietly, however.

A jumper from Marla Simmons (Lebanon/Cedar Crest) and a 3-pointer from Morgan Klunk (Felton/York Catholic) ignited the start of the Huskies rally as Bloomsburg rattled off 15 of the game's next 18 points, cutting the deficit to single digits at 60-53 on a pair of shots at the line from Simmons.

Dallas Ely momentarily made the lead double digits again with her shot from long range on the next trip down the floor, but the Huskies continued to chip away.

Back-to-back 3-pointers from Simmons tied the game and then gave the Huskies an unlikely 74-71 lead with 4:49 remaining.

Undaunted by seeing their 19-point lead vanish in less than 12 minutes, West Chester immediately tied the game again on another 3-pointer from Ely.

Boehner appeared to give Bloomsburg a final push to the finish with her triple from the far corner and a 77-74 advantage with 1:41 to go. A defensive stop on the other end gave the Huskies the ball back with a chance to extend to a two-possession game, but the next trip down the floor began what was a series of events where the Huskies could not put the game away.

A missed Bloomsburg layup, one of multiple over the final two and a half minutes, allowed West Chester to cut within a point following foul shots from Brittany Sicinski.
Simmons made one of two at the line for a 78-76 lead with 41 seconds to play and the Huskies again had a chance to put the game away following a defensive stop.

A missed front end of a one-and-one gave the ball back to West Chester, however, and Serifat Junaid drew a foul and a trip to the line. Junaid calmly made both shots with 12 seconds remaining, and a scrum for a loose ball as seconds ticked away saw the teams finish intermission tied at 78.

Taylor Maldonado (Stroudsburg/Allentown Central Catholic) gave the Huskies a short-lived 81-80 edge with a shot beyond the arc, but Jasmen Clark hit one of her six threes for an 83-81 advantage to start a 7-0 run.

Bloomsburg had a chance to tie down 88-85, but a missed jumper sent West Chester the other way where free throws from Ely made the score 90-85.

Boehner gave Bloomsburg one last hope with another 3-pointer for a 91-88 score with 11 seconds to go, but Ely sank a pair of free throws to put the game on ice.

West Chester's control of the boards was the difference – the Golden Rams outrebounded Bloomsburg by a 54-29 margin and pulled down 19 offensive rebounds. Steele-Hook did much of the damage on the glass with 14 rebounds.

Ely (25 points) and Clark (22 points) were outstanding as Ely also supplemented her shooting by handing out seven assists. Sicinski tallied a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds with Anna Kuntz also adding 10 points and nine boards.

Five Huskies finished in double figures led by Simmons who scored 21 points with four assists and five rebounds before picking up her fifth foul late in overtime. Boehner tied a career high by hitting five threes on her way to 20 points off the bench while Maldonado registered 15 points with seven assists and Klunk netted 13 points with four assists. Adreana Sadowski (Fleetwood/Brandywine Heights) also had 10 points with eight rebounds.

Bloomsburg returns home to play Mansfield Saturday at 1 p.m. inside Nelson Field House. The Huskies will host a National Girls and Women in Sports Day clinic beginning at 10 a.m.

GAME NOTES: Bloomsburg suffered its first road and PSAC East losses since a 92-83 defeat at Shippensburg on Dec. 7, 2013 ... Wednesday marked only the fourth time that the Huskies have allowed 90 or more points under head coach Bill Cleary ... Bloomsburg had multiple players score 20+ points for the first time since Jan. 11, 2014 in a win over Philadelphia ... The Huskies had five players score in double figures for the first time since an NCAA Tournament win over Virginia State on March 14, 2014 ... The Huskies went 14-of-29 from the perimeter, with the 14 made 3-pointers being the most for BU since making 17 vs. Clarion on Jan. 12, 2013 ... Bloomsburg is 1-1 in overtime games this year, winning 82-73 at Pitt-Johnstown on Dec. 17.