BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg University women's basketball team erased a double-digit halftime deficit to down Holy Family 63-54 at the Nelson Field House Tuesday night (Nov. 21).
The two teams played a back and forth opening frame, with the Tigers leading 16-14. The Huskies jumped out to a 6-0 lead on a layup from
Leah Myers (York, Pa./Eastern York), a jumper from
Megan Brandt (Lebanon, Pa./Northern Lebanon) and a layup from
Meghan Corridoni (Exeter, Pa./Holy Redeemer). The two teams went on to trade buckets for most of the quarter, with the Tigers eventually erasing the early six-point deficit.
Holy Family would out-score the Huskies 21-11 in the second, taking a 37-25 lead to the half. Through the first five minutes of the frame, the Tigers seized control with an 11-2 run. After another layup from Myers tied the game at 16, Alexis Hofstaedter knocked down two of the next three buckets along with one from Anjelai Hayes to quickly up 22-18. In between those possessions,
Marianna Maldonado (Stroudsburg, Pa./Pocono Mountain East) got on the scoresheet with a layup. A pair of free throws from Elizabeth Radley stretch the lead to seven, before Radley knocked down a jumper the next trip down the floor to put the Tigers up nine. After the media timeout, a pair of free throws from Myers cut the deficit back to seven, before Ege-Ly Viirmaa hit a three-pointer to get the lead back to double digits. With under three minutes left,
Taylor Sneidman (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) knocked down a triple of her own to get the Huskies back within single digits, before Casey Thomas scored a layup to get the Tigers' lead back to nine. With under one minute on the clock in the frame, Thomas hit a pair of free throws to get their lead back up to 11. A Brandt layup with 29 seconds left was answered with six seconds left on the clock, when Viirmaa drilled a three-pointer to secure the double-digit lead at the half.
Out of the break, Brandt split a pair of free throws, counteracted by a layup from Thomas.
Payton Spadaccino (Ivyland, Pa./Council Rock South) scored a layup, and on the next possession was able to score three points the old-fashioned way. Driving hard to the rack from the left side of the lane, Spadaccino drew the foul and lofted up a layup that caught the glass and fell true. She would knock down the free throw and get her team within eight. The next trip down the floor, it was Spadaccino setting up Corridoni for a layup that put the Huskies within two possessions. The Huskies cranked up their effort on the glass, and combined with the cold shooting of the Tigers, things turned in the Huskies favor quickly.
Taylor Montana (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) knocked down a close-range jumper to get the game within four, before a layup from
Emma Saxton (York, Pa./Central York) got it within two with 5:18 to play in the frame. Coming out of the media timeout, it was
Taylor Sneidman (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) who tied the game with a layup, but it was quickly answered by a bucket from Thomas. Thomas scored again on the next trip down the floor and Holy Family was quickly again up by four. Brandt made her presence felt the next two possessions, scoring on the first an assisting Myers on the next to knot the game for the fifth time. Tied at 43 with 1:30 left in the third, Hayes scored a jumper before Brandt hit two free throws on the next possession. The Huskies eventually took the lead when Myers set up Montana underneath the rim for a layup with two seconds left in the quarter. Bloomsburg out-scored Holy Family 22-8 in the third quarter to turn the tide and lead 47-45 heading to the final 10 minutes.
The Tigers tied the game less than a minute into the final frame, before Bloomsburg went on a 13-2 run that stretched over six minutes in the quarter. The run began with a pair of good free throws from Montana. Montana hit a layup a few possessions later, followed by layups from Corridoni and Saxton. All of a sudden, the Huskies were up by eight with just over five minutes left in the game. Corridoni got the lead to double-digits with a jumper, before the Tigers responded with two good foul shots from Jada Smith. A few possessions later, Sneidman knocked down a triple that re-gained the double-digit lead for BU. Saxton polished off the run with a layup that put the Huskies up 13 with just 2:13 remaining. The Huskies held the double-digit lead into the final minute, and held on for the nine-point win. Bloomsburg held Holy Family to single-digit scoring in both quarters of the second half, only allowing nine points in the fourth quarter.
As a unit. Bloomsburg shot 41.3 percent from the field, 18.2 percent from downtown and 75.0 percent at the charity stripe. Two Huskies scored in double figures, as Corridoni and Myers each logged 10, with Myers's total marking a new career-high. Brandt and Sneidman added nine points each, while Saxton and Montana contributed eight. On the glass, BU out-worked Holy Family 42-32, led by a career-high 13-board night from Montana. Corridoni also pulled down seven boards on the night. Spadaccino had the hot hand on the night, dishing out a team-high three assists. Sneidman also logged a team-high 34 minutes, with five other Huskies playing at least 20.
The Huskies hit the road after returning from the Thanksgiving holiday, traveling to Chestnut Hill next Tuesday night (Nov. 28) for a non-conference matchup. Tip-off is slated for 6:00 p.m.
