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CALIFORNIA, Pa. - The Bloomsburg University women's basketball team rallied from ten points down with just over eight minutes left in regulation, but the 14th-ranked Vulcans of California University of Pennsylvania used clutch foul shooting in the closing seconds to hold off the Huskies, 80-74, on Tuesday afternoon at the Convocation Center. The Huskies suffered their second consecutive loss and dropped to 7-4 overall and 3-1 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division while the Vulcans remained unbeaten at 9-0 overall and 3-0 in the PSAC West.

Junior Bella Ricci (Etters, Pa./Red Land) led the Huskies with 17 points while junior Taylor Montana (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) chipped in with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Senior Alyssa Mack (Walnutport, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) and sophomore Emma Saxton (York, Pa./Central York) added 13 points apiece for Bloomsburg in the loss. The Huskies, however, had no answer for California's Seairra Barrett who scored a game-high 30 points on 13-of-22 from the field. Barrett entered the contest tied for the conference lead in scoring at 25.4 points per game.

Bloomsburg trailed 68-58 with 8:14 left but went on a 7-0 run over the next two minutes to cut the Vulcans' advantage to three, 68-65, with six minutes remaining in regulation. Junior Taylor Montana (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) started the spurt with a layup with senior Alyssa Mack (Walnutport, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) following with a pair of foul shots after a technical fall on California's Barrett. The Huskies kept the ball after Mack's free throws and senior Marissa Molnar (Erie, Pa./McDowell) knocked down a three-pointer as Bloomsburg scored five points in seven seconds to get back into the game. Unfortunately for the Huskies, Bloomsburg could get no closer as the Vulcans went 8-of-9 from the free-throw line down the stretch to keep the Huskies at bay.

The Huskies led by one, 18-17, after the opening quarter but the Vulcans responded with a 23-16 advantage in the second quarter to take a 40-34 halftime lead. Bloomsburg trailed by as many as 13 points in the third quarter, 60-47, before closing the period on a 10-2 run to cut the California advantage to five heading to the fourth quarter.

The game featured two of the top four defenses in the PSAC but both teams faced little resistance on the offensive end. Bloomsburg shot 27-of-50 (54.0%) from the field and was 18-of-21 (85.7%) from the charity stripe on the afternoon. The Huskies, however, made only 2-of-8 (25.0%) from beyond the arc. California was 31-of-62 (50.0%) from the field and connected on six triples in 17 attempts (35.3%). The Vulcans were 12-of-15 (83.3%) from the foul line but were only 4-of-6 until the fourth quarter.

The Huskies turned the ball over 16 times which led to 16 California points. Meanwhile, the Vulcans committed 11 turnovers which led to only eight Bloomsburg points. California held a 30-25 edge on the glass with 12 of its boards coming on the offensive end which led to 15 second-chance points on the day. Saxton led Bloomsburg with eight rebounds including four of the team's six offensive boards.

Bloomsburg will get right back to work as it heads to Slippery Rock University on Wednesday evening for a battle against The Rock. Tip-off from the Morrow Field House is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

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