JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The Bloomsburg University women's basketball team fell in the opening game of its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) slate to Pitt-Johnstown 63-52 on Saturday (Nov. 18).
The two teams played a back and forth, fast-paced first quarter that saw the Mountain Cats lead 14-10. The Huskies got on the scoreboard on a jumper from
Taylor Sneidman (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) assisted by
Darcy Lee (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle), before layups from Gabrielle on three straight possessions stretched Pitt-Johnstown's lead to 7-2. Just over three minutes into the frame,
Meghan Corridoni (Exeter, Pa./Holy Redeemer) calmed the run with a jumper of her own to make it 7-4.
Lauren Oeth (Doylestown, Pa./Germantown Academy) would get the Huskies within one possession with a layup, before a pair of made free throws from
Taylor Montana (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) got BU within one. With four minutes and change left in the opening frame, Smith split a pair of free throws to put UPJ back up by two. The Mountain Cats would get their lead back up to six on layups from Alexis Harris and Olivia McCabe, before another Corridoni bucket with 2:37 left in the frame sent the score to the second quarter.
The Huskies started off the second quarter with back-to-back buckets from
Leah Myers (York, Pa./Eastern York) and Corridoni to tie the game at 14, but it only lasted briefly as the Mountain Cats got another layup from Smith and a three-pointer from Alexis Hartwick to get their lead up to five. The Mountain Cats flirted with a single-digit lead for the first four minutes of the quarter until a layup from Hartwick got the home team a 10-point lead. Bloomsburg got the lead back down to single digits on a layup from Corridoni with just under six minutes left in the quarter, before Myers split a pair of free throws to get the game to within seven. Harris knocked down a three-pointer on the following possession, and after the two teams traded points it was UPJ taking a 35-24 lead to the half.
Already holding an 11-point lead, Pitt-Johnstown out-scored Bloomsburg 14-10 in the third quarter to maintain a double-digit lead throughout the entire 10 minutes.
The Huskies started off the fourth with a jumper from Montana to get the Huskies within 12, before UPJ responded with a layup from McCabe. Sneidman knocked down a long ball on the following trip down the floor, only for the Bloomsburg defense to trade it for another layup by McCabe. Sneidman would hit another triple on the following possession to make it a 10-point game with 6:45 left. After a layup from Nicole Olkosky, it was
Alyssa Mack (Walnutport, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) getting in on the scoring with a three-pointer to get the game to single-digits for the first time since early in the second quarter. Gabrielle Smith would split a pair of free throws and score a layup inside the final three minutes to get the deficit back up to double-digits. The Huskies cut the lead down to eight with under one minute to play in the game, after Montana scored a three-point play the old-fashioned way making a layup and knocking down the foul shot that came with it. The Mountain Cats converted four consecutive free throws in the final 30 seconds to ice the game.
As a team, the Huskies shot 37.7 percent from the floor, 33.3 percent from downtown and 60.0 percent from the charity stripe. The Huskies pulled down 31 rebounds in the contest, comprised of 22 on the defensive end and nine on the offensive end. Montana led Bloomsburg with a season and career-high 16 points, while Sneidman and Corridoni each tallied 10. Sneidman's 10 marks a new career-high for the junior. Sneidman also knocked down a new career-high two three-pointers in the loss. Four other Huskies scored in the contest. For the third time in four games, the Huskies held their opponent to below 40 percent shooting from the floor.
The Huskies hit the hardwood again tomorrow (Sunday, Nov. 19) when they face another PSAC road contest at No. 20 IUP. Tip-off is slated for 1:00 p.m.
