PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Bloomsburg University women's basketball team used a 22-9 fourth quarter to power its way past Chestnut Hill College, Wednesday night. The Huskies evened their record to 1-1 while the Griffins dropped to 1-4 for the year.
 
The Huskies were led by senior Bella Ricci (Etters, Pa./Red Land) for the second-straight game as she drained a game-high 23 points behind a 5-for-10 night beyond the arc. Junior Megan Brandt (Lebanon, Pa./Northern Lebanon) finished the day with 15 points, including five in the final 10 minutes of action. Redshirt junior Lauren Oeth (Doylestown, Pa./Germantown Academy) led the team with six rebounds and had four points while Emma Saxton (York, Pa./Central York) posted a team-best six assists to go with her five boards and six points.
 
Trailing by two going into the fourth quarter, Brandt made the most of the Huskies first possession as she sunk a jumper just 16 seconds into play to give Bloomsburg a 50-49 lead. Junior Emma Saxton (York, Pa./Central York) pushed the Husky lead to three with a layup at the 8:48 mark. Chestnut Hill used three unanswered points to tie the game at 53-53 with 7:24 to play, but that would be the last tie of the contest and Bloomsburg controlled the rest of the game.
 
After neither team could put the ball in the basket for the next two minutes, junior Payton Spadaccino (Ivyland, Pa./Council Rock South) drained a long three with 5:40 to play to give the Huskies the lead for good at 56-53. A technical foul on the floor by the Griffins at the 4:40 mark sent the Huskies to the free throw line and gave them possession after the two free shots. Ricci was perfect from the line and then hit a three thanks to a pass from Spadaccino to push the Bloomsburg lead to eight, 61-53, with 4:28 to play. The Griffins went on a quick 5-1 run over the next two minutes to get back within four, 62-58, but Oeth ended the run with a jumper after grabbing an offensive board to put the Huskies back up by six, 64-58, with 1:35 to play.
 
The Huskies closed out the game with a 9-0 run, highlighted by three points from Spadaccino from the free throw line, to defeat the Griffins 70-58.
 
The game opened with a back and forth first half as neither team could build more than a three-point lead until redshirt junior Meghan. Corridoni made a layup with four seconds left to give Bloomsburg an 18-13 lead at the first break. Bloomsburg seemed to take control of the game in the second as the Huskies built a 10-point lead, 34-24, with 1:32 to play before halftime. Chestnut Hill's Leah Miller hit the backend of a trip to the free throw line with 1:05 to play and cut the lead down to nine, as the Huskies carried a 34-29 lead into intermission.
 
Bloomsburg pushed its lead to 11, 36-25, as senior Taylor Montana (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) hit a three to open the third but the Griffins used a 15-5 run over the next six minutes to take their first lead of the game since the first quarter, 41-40, with 3:30 to play in the third quarter. Chestnut Hill pushed its lead to seven, 47-40, thanks to a three from Cassie Sebold at the 2:35 mark, but Bloomsburg went on an 8-2 run, punctuated by a triple from Ricci to cut the deficit down to one going into the final quarter.
 
As a team, the Huskies shot 56.5% (26-for-46) from the floor and was 6-for-17 (35.3%) from beyond the arc. Bloomsburg shot lights out in the first half, as the Huskies went 15-for-24 (62.50%). Bloomsburg won the rebounding battle 32-27 and scoring 14 points off offensive boards. The Huskies forced 17 turnovers from the Griffins and scored 25 points off turnovers.
 
Bloomsburg gets back to work on Saturday as the Huskies travel to IUP on Saturday for their first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East matchup of the year. IUP comes into the game ranked #16 by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and have a 3-1 overall record. The Huskies and Crimson Hawks are set to tip off at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday in Indiana, Pa.