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WEST CHESTER, Pa. - Senior Alex Ross (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) made sure that Monday night would not be the final game of her collegiate career.

Ross poured in a career-high 29 points, including 21 in the second half, to lift the Bloomsburg University women's basketball team to a 79-71 come-from-behind victory at West Chester University in the opening round of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament on Monday night at the Hollinger Fieldhouse. The Huskies move on to the quarterfinal round where they will meet the regular-season champions from the Eastern Division, Shippensburg University, on Wednesday evening at 5:30 p.m. Bloomsburg improved to 11-16 overall while the Golden Rams concluded their season with a 10-17 overall record.

Freshman Taylor Montana (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) tied a career-high with 19 points while fellow senior Morgan Klunk (Felton, Pa./York Catholic) chipped in 17 points for the Huskies, who, after a 1-12 start to the season, now find themselves in the PSAC Quarterfinals. Bloomsburg has now won 10 of its last 14 games.

The Huskies, after being outscored 23-13 in the third quarter, trailed by six, 58-52, with just one quarter remaining. But, Bloomsburg, thanks to 14 points from Ross in the final quarter, outscored the Golden Rams, 27-13, to post the comeback victory. In that final quarter, the senior scored 12 consecutive points in a span of 2:46 to give the Huskies a seven-point lead which, eventually, turned into an eight-point win. Klunk added seven points over the final ten minutes.

Bloomsburg led by four, 22-18, after the opening quarter despite falling behind by as many as six points in the first ten minutes. Montana scored the game's first four points and then, after a West Chester basket, sophomore Alyssa Mack (Walnutport, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) drilled a three-pointer to give Bloomsburg a 7-2 lead early. But, the Golden Rams went on an 8-0 run to take a 10-7 advantage with 6:51 remaining in the opening quarter. Klunk knocked down a three-pointer to tie the game at 10-10 before West Chester went on another run - this time a 6-0 spurt - to take a 16-10 lead with 4:07 left. The Huskies answered with a 7-0 run and, after sophomore Taylor Sneidman (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) hit a triple with 2:51 left, Bloomsburg led 17-16. Freshman Meghan Corridoni (Exeter, Pa./Holy Redeemer) closed out the quarter with four of Bloomsburg's final five points as the Huskies built a four-point lead.

That lead would stay intact as the teams headed to their respective locker rooms at halftime. Bloomsburg led by as many as nine points, 27-18, early in the second quarter before the Golden Rams closed the gap and eventually tied the game at 35-35 with 1:26 left. But, the Huskies scored the final four points of the quarter - on back-to-back jumpers from Klunk and Montana - which gave the visitors a 39-35 lead at the break.

Montana extended the lead to 41-35 early in the third quarter before the Golden Rams started to chip away. West Chester's Mariah Traywick hit 1-of-2 at the line with 5:55 left in the third to knot the game at 43-43 and Camden Boehner nailed a three-pointer 16 seconds later to give West Chester a 46-43 advantage. The Golden Rams continued to hit shots and built a six-point lead when Tori Smick hit a layup at the buzzer to give the hosts a 58-52 lead.

The two Bloomsburg seniors took over from there.

Klunk started the comeback with back-to-back baskets to narrow the gap to two, 58-56, with 8:05 left. Ross tied the game at 58-58 just 15 seconds later before the Golden Rams scored five of the game's next seven points to regain a 63-60 advantage with 5:18 left in regulation. Montana pulled the Huskies to within one with a jumper and then the "Ross Show" went into full effect.

The senior gave the Huskies a one-point lead, 64-63, with 3:36 left before West Chester reclaimed the lead, 65-64, just 11 seconds later. Back-to-back layups from Ross gave the Huskies a 68-65 lead with 2:27 remaining and, after Boehner cut the lead to one with a jumper, the senior scored six unanswered points on a layup, a jumper, and a pair of free throws, to give Bloomsburg a 74-67 advantage with 50 seconds left in regulation. Klunk and Mack closed out the contest by going 5-of-6 from the foul line to seal the victory.

Ross was 9-of-17 from the field and was a perfect 11-of-11 from the foul line for her 29 points. The senior entered the game a 62.3% shooter from the line (53-of-85) on the season. In fact, the Huskies were 24-of-29 from the free throw line on Monday night (82.8%) after coming into the game ranked 15th in the conference in foul shooting (67.7%) for the year.

Montana tied her career-high with 19 points on 7-of-10 from the field and 5-of-6 from the line while also adding a team-high nine rebounds. Klunk was 6-of-10 from the field and added six rebounds and five assists while playing all 40 minutes.

The Huskies, as a team, shot 51.0% from the floor (26-of-51) Monday night.

Smick led West Chester with 26 points and 13 rebounds in a losing effort. Boehner added 13 points for the Golden Rams.

Bloomsburg will head to Shippensburg on Wednesday evening for a quarterfinal matchup at 5:30 p.m. from the Heiges Fieldhouse. The Huskies were swept by the Raiders this season - 63-51 in Shippensburg on January 6 and 82-56 in Bloomsburg on February 4.