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BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg University women's basketball team jumped out to a 28-point lead midway through the third quarter but had to hold off a furious East Stroudsburg University fourth-quarter rally to earn a 54-49 victory over the Warriors on Monday afternoon at the Nelson Field House. The Huskies improved to 11-6 overall and 7-3 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division standings while the Warriors dropped to 8-9 overall and 5-5 in the PSAC East.

Sophomore Emma Saxton (York, Pa./Central York) continued her torrid stretch by leading the Huskies with 15 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists. Senior Alyssa Mack (Walnutport, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) added 12 points to move to within eight points of becoming the 22nd player in program history to record 1,000 career points. Junior Taylor Montana (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) chipped in with 11 points and nine rebounds, narrowly missing her fourth double-double of the season. Sophomore Megan Brandt (Lebanon, Pa./Northern Lebanon) was just shy of her second straight double-double as she scored eight points and grabbed nine boards - six on the offensive end. Sophomore Payton Spadaccino (Ivyland, Pa./Council Rock South) pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds to lead both teams in that department.

Everything went right for the Huskies during the first three quarters as Bloomsburg jumped out to a 28-point lead midway through the third quarter before settling for 25-point advantage heading to the fourth period. But, the Warriors would not go quietly as they used a 23-1 run over a seven-minute stretch to trim the Bloomsburg lead to four, 49-45, with just over two minutes left in regulation. After a miss by Saxton, the Warriors had an opportunity to cut into the deficit even further before Mack drew a potentially game-saving charge on the defensive end to keep the Huskies ahead by four with 1:34 left. Ten seconds later, Saxton scored Bloomsburg's only field goal of the period to extend the advantage to six. The Warriors missed on each of their next two possessions - with big rebounds pulled down by Spadaccino - and the Huskies were able to survive with three free throws down the stretch. East Stroudsburg's Tiffany Lapotsky hit a triple at the buzzer for the final margin.

The Huskies outscored East Stroudsburg, 20-8, in the opening quarter with Saxton and Mack leading the way with six points apiece. Bloomsburg then held East Stroudsburg to five points in the second quarter as the hosts built a 32-13 halftime advantage. Mack finished the first half with 10 points while the Warriors had 13 points on 5-of-27 (18.5%) shooting in the opening 20 minutes of action. The Huskies started hot at the outset of the third quarter as they scored the initial nine points of the second half to build their largest lead at 41-13 with 5:12 left in the third period.

The Warriors did not reach 20 points in the game until Noelle Powell nailed a three-pointer with seven seconds left in the third quarter to cut the lead to 46-21 through three. East Stroudsburg then outscored the Huskies, 28-8, in the fourth to make things extremely interesting down the stretch.

Bloomsburg finished the game shooting 19-of-49 (38.8%) from the field and attempted only six three-pointers the whole game with Mack making the only Huskies' triple of the afternoon. East Stroudsburg was 17-of-62 (27.4%) from the floor and 8-of-22 (36.4%) from three-point range. The Huskies held a 47-35 edge on the glass but turned the ball over 21 times which included 15 miscues in the second half.

Lapotsky was the only East Stroudsburg player in double figures as she finished with 16 points.

Bloomsburg will get right back to work on Wednesday night, January 23, when it hosts Seton Hill University to wrap up its three-game homestand. Tip-off from the Nelson Field House is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

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