Women's Basketball | 11/13/2018 4:58:00 PM

THE DETAILS
Bloomsburg (2-0, 0-0 PSAC East) at #5/18 IUP (2-0, 0-0 PSAC West)
Wednesday, November 14, 2018 - 5:30 p.m.
Kovalchick Complex - Indiana, Pa.

GAME COVERAGE
Live Stats - CLICK HERE
Live Audio - CLICK HERE

RELATED LINKS
Bloomsburg - Schedule | Roster | Statistics
IUP - Schedule | Roster | Statistics

STORYLINE
The Bloomsburg University women's basketball team heads to IUP on Wednesday evening as they take on the Crimson Hawks in a non-conference matchup. Both Bloomsburg and IUP started their seasons off two wins in their opening weekend. The Huskies went 2-0 in the PSAC/CIAA Challenge at Kutztown University, defeating Fayetteville State and Lincoln (Pa.), while the Crimson Hawks took part in the PSAC/G-MAC Challenge defeating Alderson-Broaddus and Ohio Valley, at home, to start 2-0. IUP is ranked fifth in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) poll and 18th in the D2SIDA poll.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
IUP holds the advantage in the all-time series against the Huskies, 25-18. In last season's meeting, IUP led 50-25 at the half and maintained the advantage to defeat Bloomsburg, 78-50. Megan Brandt (Lebanon, Pa./Northern Lebanon) was the only Huskies' player to reach double-digits in scoring as she finished with a team-high ten points and three assists while also grabbing four rebounds. Megan Smith and Lauren Wolosik led the Crimson Hawks in scoring with 18 points each as IUP had five players in double figures on the day.
 
SCOUTING BLOOMSBURG
Bloomsburg opened its regular season last weekend at the PSAC/CIAA Challenge with victories over Fayetteville State and Lincoln (Pa.) at Kutztown University. Four players finished in double figures on Friday night as the Huskies defeated Fayetteville State, 69-51, in the first meeting between the two schools. Senior Alyssa Mack (Walnutport, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) led all scorers with 21 points while also adding a career-high seven assists, five rebounds, and a pair of steals in the victory. Her previous high in assists was six at Gannon on December 4, 2016. Junior Taylor Montana (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) added 16 points and seven rebounds while senior Marissa Molnar (Erie, Pa./McDowell) and sophomore Emma Saxton (York, Pa./Central York) had 14 and 10 points, respectively. The Huskies then continued their winning ways with a 54-47 victory over Lincoln (Pa.) on Saturday. Bloomsburg trailed by four going into the fourth-quarter and outscored the Lions, 22-11, in the final stanza to take home the win. Montana led the team in scoring going 6-of-9 from the field to finish with 13 points, all of which were scored in the second half, and five rebounds. Junior Bella Ricci (Etters, Pa./Red Land) was also in double figures with 11 points while leading the Huskies with four assists. It marked the first time that Ricci reached double figures in a Bloomsburg uniform. Mack and Saxton chipped in with nine points apiece while sophomore Darcy Lee (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds to go along with three points. Saxton, meanwhile, added eight boards to finish one point and two rebounds shy of a double-double. Montana, for her efforts over the weekend, was named the PSAC East Athlete of the Week by averaging 14.5 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 13-of-19 (63.2%) from the field. The Huskies averaged 61.5 points per game on offense while holding their two opponents to 49.0 points per game. However, Bloomsburg shot just 35.7% from the field and 27.8% from long distance in the two victories. The team is currently +4.0 in rebounding margin through two games with Lee leading the way with 21 total rebounds (10.5 per game).

SCOUTING IUP
The Crimson Hawks enter Wednesday's matchup ranked fifth in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II Preseason Top 25 Coaches' Poll, released last Thursday. IUP is 18th in the D2SIDA poll. The Crimson Hawks are coming off a 2017-18 season in which they reached the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament before bowing out to the top seeded Ashland. To start this season, the Crimson Hawks played in the PSAC/G-MAC Challenge and ended the weekend 2-0 after defeating Alderson-Broaddus, 95-50, and Ohio Valley, 101-62. Lauren Woloski leads the team in scoring as she averaged 15.5 points per game over the weekend. She also led the team in assists with 16 in the two games. Lexi Griggs is right behind averaging 14.5 points per game while also leading the team in rebounds at 8.5 per game. As a team, the Crimson Hawks shoot 49.3% from the field and 46.5% from three-point range but have struggled early from the free-throw line where they shoot only 61.2%. In the two wins, they averaged 96 points per game while putting up 56 rebounds per contest.

UP NEXT
Bloomsburg will be at the Nelson Field House for its first home game of the 2018-19 season as it hosts the Mountain Cats of Pitt-Johnstown in a non-conference contest on Saturday, November 17. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.

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