BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg women's basketball team took the lead for good with 6:32 to play in the first and held off a late game-push to defeat Jefferson University 79-68, Saturday afternoon. The Huskies improved to 4-3 on the year to close out the non-conference portion of their schedule while the Rams dropped to 4-5 on the year.
Junior
Emma Saxton (York, Pa./Central York) led four double-digit point scorers for Bloomsburg with 21 while redshirt junior
Meghan Corridoni (Exeter, Pa./Holy Redeemer) posted her first career double-double for the Huskies with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Junior
Megan Brandt (Lebanon, Pa./Northern Lebanon) chipped in 12 points while senior
Bella Ricci (Etters, Pa./Red Land) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points. Alynna Williams led all players with 24 points for the Rams.
As a team, the Huskies shot 48.4% for the game (30-for-62) including going 8-for-11 (72.7%) in the fourth quarter alone. Bloomsburg out-rebounded the Rams 40-30 and held Jefferson to a 44.1% (30-for-68) day from the field. Bloomsburg pulled down 14 offensive boards and posted 15 second-chance points for the contest.
Saxton kicked off the scoring for the game with a three almost a minute into action to give Bloomsburg its first lead, 3-0, before Haley Meinel cut the lead to one, 3-2, and Williams gave Jefferson a 5-3 lead with the Rams' first three-pointer of the game. Ricci answered that three with one of her own at 7:27 before the lead changed hands two more times. Junior
Payton Spadaccino (Ivyland, Pa./Council Rock South) gave the Huskies the lead for good, 9-7, with a triple thanks to an assist from Saxton. From there, Bloomsburg pushed its lead to four at the end of the first quarter, 17-13, thanks to a jumper from Ricci with 32 seconds to play before the first break.
The Rams cut the Bloomsburg lead down to one point two separate times in the first minute of the second quarter before the Huskies built a six-point lead, 28-22, with 4:33 to play. The two teams traded the next three buckets before Jefferson got to within three, 31-28, with 1:49 to play before halftime thanks to a jumper from Meinel. Spadaccino hit a pair of free throws 29 seconds later and redshirt junior
Lauren Oeth (Doylestown, Pa./Germantown Academy) made a jumper with 23 seconds to play to give Bloomsburg a 35-28 lead at the half.
Bloomsburg took its first double-digit lead of the game, 49-39, with 4:09 to play in the third as Brandt come out of the media timeout and hit a jumper off a sweet pass in the paint from Corridoni. The Rams used a 9-2 run over the next 1:47 of action to pull back within three, 51-48 with 2:22 to play in the third. Saxton halted the run as she made a layup with 1:40 to play and kicked off a 6-0 run to close out the third. The Huskies led 57-48 with 10 minutes to play.
After the Rams used a 5-2 run to open the fourth quarter a pull within six, 59-53, the Huskies took their largest lead of the game, 70-53, with 3:44 to play thanks to an 11-0 run, punctuated by a layup from Brandt at the 3:44 mark. Jefferson and Bloomsburg traded layups before the Rams went on a 10-1 run over three minutes of play to cut the deficit back to single-digits, 73-65, with 46 seconds left in regulation. Once again, Saxton put a stop to the Rams' run and pushed the Huskies' lead back to 10, 75-65, with a layup at the 41 second mark. Spadaccino and Ricci completed a pair of trips to the free throw line to hold off the late run from the Rams that included a pair of free throw and a fast break layup at the end of the quarter.
The Huskies held the ball in the final seven seconds to seal the 79-68 win.
Bloomsburg is now 4-0 when out-rebounding its opponent.
The Huskies return to the hardwood next Friday, December 20, when they kick off a weekend Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) weekend series. On Friday, Bloomsburg hosts Mercyhurst at 1:00 p.m. at Nelson Field House before welcoming Gannon to Bloomsburg for a 1:00 p.m. tip. The weekend series marks the final games of the 2019 calendar year for Bloomsburg.
