BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg University women's basketball team picked up its first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) win of the season at the Nelson Field House on Sunday (Dec. 3), defeating Slippery Rock 57-52.
The two teams played a fast-paced yet low-scoring first quarter, with Bloomsburg leading 13-10 after 10 minutes. The Huskies jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead thanks to two buckets from
Megan Brandt (Lebanon, Pa./Northern Lebanon) and one made free throw from
Payton Spadaccino (Ivyland, Pa./Council Rock South). Sierra Fordham got The Rock on the board with a three-pointer, before Brandt scored another layup to make it 7-3. Brooke Hinderliter got her team within one after an old-fashioned three-point play, before
Alyssa Mack (Walnutport, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) knocked down a triple with 2:20 left in the frame to get her team's lead back up to four.
Meghan Corridoni (Exeter, Pa./Holy Redeemer) would get on the scoresheet for the first of many times on the afternoon with a layup and made free throw, to stretch the Huskies lead to seven. The Rock scored the last four points of the quarter on a jumper and two free throws from Fordham.
Bloomsburg would take control in the second quarter, out-scoring The Rock 17-8 in the second quarter. The Huskies scored the first eight points of the quarter, on a jumper from Corridoni followed by a layup from
Leah Myers (York, Pa./Eastern York).
Taylor Sneidman (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) got in on the action with a layup, before another Corridoni jumper stretched the lead to 11 with 6:20 to play in the frame. Ciara Patterson calmed the run with a pair of free throws, but Corridoni drove the rack and scored another layup to get the lead back up to double-digits just before the halfway point. The Huskies maintained a lead of at least 10 all the way to the break, extending the deficit to as many as 16. The run peaked on the final two of four straight scores by Corridoni, capped off by a layup and even a three-pointer to give the Huskies a 16-point edge with three minutes left in the half. Morgan Henderson would then make her presence known for The Rock, scoring on the next three possessions to get the game back to within 10 with just 1:12 to play. Corridoni's scored for her fifth consecutive possession with 29 seconds left to send the Huskies to the locker room with a 30-18 lead.
The two teams traded empty possessions to start the second half, before Brandt and Hinderliter traded buckets to keep the lead at 12. The Huskies spanned a 6-0 run over 1:07 to get their lead up to a game-high 20 and get the Bloomsburg natives to their feet. The run began with a technical foul assessed to the Slippery Rock bench after a play where
Meghan Corridoni (Exeter, Pa./Holy Redeemer) was fouled attacking the rim. Sneidman knocked down both technical foul shots, before Corridoni sunk a pair for the original foul. The Rock came up empty on their next possession, and the Huskies kept on feeding the ball to Corridoni inside. Corridoni made a move on her defender and found Mack open on the wing. Mack knocked down the triple for the largest lead of the game for the Huskies with five and a half minutes to play in the quarter. The second half of the quarter saw The Rock chip away at the deficit, but Bloomsburg was able to keep the double-digit lead, heading to the final 10 minutes up 50-34.
The Rock came out firing in the final quarter, opening the frame with an 8-0 run to get the game back down to eight. A jumper from Henderson followed by a pair of triples from Patterson ignited the visitors and forced a Bloomsburg timeout. The timeout did little to cool off Patterson, as she followed up a Madison Johnson layup with yet another long ball to get the game to one possession with 4:50 remaining. The next trip down the floor, Brandt was sent to the line and knocked down two free throws to get the lead back to five. Mallory Heinle got on the scoresheet with a jumper, before Johnson split a pair of foul shots to keep the teams separated by two. With 1:37 left, a turnover resulted in a breakaway layup for Patterson and the game was tied at 52. Corridoni would be sent to the stripe on the next possession and make one of two, before Mack knocked down the biggest three-pointer of the game to get Bloomsburg back up by four. Sneidman iced the game from the charity stripe, making one of two to seal the Huskies first PSAC win of the season. For the fourth time this season, the Huskies had held their opponent to single-digit scoring in at least one of four quarters.
The Huskies shot 45.2 percent from the floor, a season-high 45.5 percent from long range and 60.9 percent from the free throw line. Bloomsburg also pulled down 38 total rebounds, including 31 on the defensive glass. Off the bench, the Huskies out-scored Slippery Rock 42-14. Individually, Corridoni led all scorers with a career-high 19 points, while Brandt also notched a new career-high with 14. Mack was the third double-digit scorer for BU, adding 11 of her own. Four other Huskies contributed points in the win. Corridoni's seven boards also paced the individual effort, with Brandt and Myers each pulling down six. Spadaccino, Mack and Sneidman each dished out three assists, while Corridoni also posted the only three blocks for the Huskies.
Bloomsburg moves to 4-5 on the season, and 1-3 in the PSAC. Slippery Rock is now 4-4 and 3-1 in league play. The Huskies take the floor again on Saturday (Dec. 9) when they welcome the Golden Eagles of Clarion to the Nelson Fieldhouse for another matinee league contest. Tip-off is slated for 3:00 p.m.
