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SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg University women's basketball team got off to a hot start on Friday night but eventually dropped a 63-51 decision at Shippensburg University at Heiges Field House. The Huskies, who have now lost eight consecutive games, fell to 1-11 overall and 0-8 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division. The Raiders, meanwhile, improved to 9-5 overall and 4-4 in league play.

Bloomsburg, which was coming off of a rough shooting night in Tuesday's 59-48 loss to Cheyney, came out firing on all cylinders as it jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the opening 5:44. The run was aided by three three-pointers - one each from sophomores Alyssa Mack (Walnutport, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic), Taylor Sneidman (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley), and Marissa Molnar (Erie, Pa./McDowell).

The Raiders battled back to score the next ten points to cut the Huskies' lead to 13-10 with 45 seconds left in the quarter before Mack stopped the bleeding with a triple to give the visitors a 16-10 lead after ten minutes.

Bloomsburg went ice cold in the second quarter, scoring only seven points, as the Raiders continued to climb their way into the game. The Huskies did not score in the quarter until Molnar knocked down a pair of free throws with 6:18 left and Shippensburg eventually tied the game at 18-18 on a layup from Logan Snyder with 3:53 left and then took the lead for good when Stephanie Knauer converted a layup with 3:24 remaining.

When the dust settled, Shippensburg held a slim 24-23 advantage at halftime.

The Raiders pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring the Huskies, 23-10, to take a 47-33 lead with one quarter remaining. Shippensburg started the quarter on a 14-4 run to blow open the one-point halftime advantage. 

Bloomsburg got as close as 11 points early in the fourth quarter as senior Alex Ross (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) scored the Huskies' first five points to trim the Shippensburg lead to 49-38 with 8:10 left. But, the Raiders scored the seven of the next nine points in the game to end any thoughts of a Huskies' comeback.

Senior Morgan Klunk (Felton, Pa./York Catholic) scored nine points in the fourth quarter and finished with a team-high 15 points on 7-of-10 from the field. She also pulled down a team-best seven rebounds, added two assists, one block, and three steals. Her two helpers moved her into 12th place on the school's all-time list with 258.

Mack, who scored eight first-quarter points, finished with 13 to join Klunk as the only Huskies in double figures. Molnar, who made her second start of the season, scored eight points.

Knauer poured in a game-high 24 points to lead three Raiders in double figures. She was 10-of-15 from the floor and 4-of-4 from the foul line. Free-throw shooting proved to be huge again - Shippensburg was 17-of-19 from the line, Bloomsburg was 7-of-12.

The Huskies will return home on Monday night, January 9, to host Edinboro University at the Nelson Field House. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.