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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - Senior Alyssa Mack (Walnutport, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) scored a game-high 23 points but it wasn't enough as the Bloomsburg University women's basketball team suffered a 70-69 loss at Slippery Rock University on Wednesday night at the Morrow Field House. The setback was the third consecutive loss for the Huskies, who fell to 7-5 overall and 3-2 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division. The Rock improved to 6-4 overall and 4-0 in the PSAC West.

Mack had a chance to win the game for the Huskies at the buzzer but missed a layup as The Rock held on for the victory. Mack appeared to draw plenty of contact on the errant shot but a foul was not called - much to the disbelief of Bloomsburg head coach Alison Tagliaferri and the rest of the Huskies' bench. The senior was 3-of-3 from the foul line in the game and 30-of-36 from the stripe on the season.

Mack led four Huskies in double figures on the night with her fourth 20-point game of the season. Junior Bella Ricci (Etters, Pa./Red Land) added 17 points while sophomore Emma Saxton (York, Pa./Central York) continued her strong string of games with 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Saxton has now hit double figures in four straight games after hitting double digits in only three of the first eight contests. Junior Taylor Montana (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) added 11 points and six rebounds. 

It was a game of runs by both teams. Slippery Rock jumped out to a 13-0 lead as The Rock's Ciara Patterson scored the game's first eight points. The Huskies trimmed the lead to single digits, 21-12, at the end of the quarter as Mack scored Bloomsburg's final five points of the period.

Bloomsburg continued to chip away, cutting the lead to 25-23, with 3:30 left in the first half before The Rock scored four of the next five points to take a 29-24 lead into the locker room at halftime. 

The Huskies continued to battle and took their first lead of the game, 32-31, with 7:30 left in the third quarter after Mack hit a pair of foul shots. Bloomsburg continued to build the advantage and got it all the way up to nine points, 58-49, with 6:11 left in regulation before it was Slippery Rock's turn to chip away.

Ricci hit a pair of foul shots to push the advantage to 65-62 with 1:34 left before Patterson hit a pair of foul shots and then knocked down a jumper with 37 seconds remaining to give The Rock the lead, 66-65. Slippery Rock's Morgan Henderson went 2-for-2 at the line to extend the lead to three with 19 seconds left. Ricci went 4-of-4 at the stripe in the next seven seconds, sandwiched around a pair of foul shots from Slippery Rock's LeeAnn Gibson, to make the score 70-69 with 12 seconds left. The Rock's Madison Johnson missed both foul shots with seven seconds left which led to the controversial finish.

Patterson led Slippery Rock with 20 points while Henderson added 13 points and 12 rebounds. Brooke Hinderliter was also in double figures with 11 points on the night.

The Huskies shot better from the floor than The Rock but made only 3-of-23 from long range (13.0%) while Slippery Rock was slightly better at 4-of-19 (21.1%). Slippery Rock also held a 41-34 edge on the glass.

Bloomsburg will be off until returning to the Nelson Field House on Wednesday, January 2, when it hosts Lock Haven University in the first inter-divisional contest of the season. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

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