BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – With 5:16 to play in the second quarter and the score tied, senior Bella Ricci (Etters, Pa./Red Land) hit a pair of free throws to give the Bloomsburg women's basketball team the lead for good as the Huskies battled to a 64-51 win over Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) opponent, Pitt-Johnstown, Saturday afternoon. The Huskies improved to 3-3 for the year and 1-2 in the PSAC while the Mountain Cats dropped to 6-2 for the season and 2-1 in conference play.
 
Ricci's free throws at 5:16 to go in the second quarter sparked an 11-0 run to end the quarter and give Bloomsburg a 39-28 lead at halftime. Ricci was responsible for five of the 11 points while senior Taylor Montana (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) chipped in four and junior Emma Saxton (York, Pa./Central York) ended the half's scoring with a layup at the 1:11 mark. A blocked three-pointer by redshirt junior Lauren Oeth (Doylestown, Pa./Germantown Academy) on the ensuing Mountain Cat possession kept the lead in the double digits as the clock ran to zero for the break.
 
The Huskies came out of halftime on fire as Ricci drained a long three and Saxton converted a Mountain Cat turnover in layup and good free throw to give Bloomsburg a 45-28 lead with 8:52 to play in the third quarter. Pitt-Johnstown came clawing back, however, and used an 8-4 run to cut the lead down to 10, 49-39, with 3:53 to play in the third. Oeth sandwiched a pair of layups around Alli McGrath's jumper extended the Husky lead to 12, 53-41, but McGrath drilled a three with 1:13 to play to cut the deficit back down to single digits, 53-44. Junior Megan Brandt (Lebanon, Pa./Northern Lebanon) got a steal on the next Mountain Cat possession and went to the basket for a good jumper to give Bloomsburg a 55-44 lead at the end of the third.
 
The two teams traded a pair of buckets in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter until Ashley Norling hit the back end of a trip to the free throw line at 4:04 to get the Mountain Cats back to within 10, 59-49. Saxton took advantage of another UPJ turnover and finished a layup thanks to a pass from Oeth at 2:24 to push the Huskies lead back to 12, 61-49. Brandt then hit the front end of a pair of free throws before Makalyn Clapper cut the lead back to 11 with a pair of free throws with 1:25 to play, 62-51. After a turnover by the Mountain Cats with 59 seconds to go, an offensive board toward the end of the shot clock gave Bloomsburg a new 20-second clock, as time was expiring in the new clock, Brandt hit a baseline jumper to seal the 64-51 win. Ricci grabbed the final rebound of the game as a McGrath last-second jumper went off the mark.
 
Bloomsburg opened the game with a dominating 20-12 first quarter, highlighted by 10 points from Brandt. The beginning of the second quarter belonged to the Mountain Cats as they out-scored the Huskies 16-8 in the first 4:44 of action. UPJ took its first and only lead of the game at the 6:05 mark as McGrath hit back-to-back three pointers to give Pitt-Johnstown a 28-26 lead. Brandt tied the game at 28-28 with a pair of free throws before Ricci gave the lead back to Bloomsburg, 30-28, with her free throws at 5:16.
 
As a team, the Huskies shot 43.9% (25-for-57) for the game and went 12-for-15 from the free throw line. Bloomsburg won the battle on the glass out-rebounding UPJ 37-29. The Huskies held the Mountain Cats to their fewest rebounds in a game this season. Bloomsburg posted 10 steals and assisted on 12 of its 25 baskets.
 
Brandt led the Huskies with 23 points as she went 8-for-10 from the field and 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Brandt grabbed eight rebounds and added a steal and a pair of assists. Saxton finished with 17 points, three assists, two rebounds, a steal and a block while Montana (10 points) and Ricci (10 points) rounded out the double-digit scores for Bloomsburg.
 
Bloomsburg held the Mountain Cats to a 36.5% shooting day (19-for-52), their lowest shooting percentage of the year. UPJ finished the day 6-for-21 from beyond the three-point arc, however, with McGrath collecting all six three pointers for UPJ. McGrath led the Mountain Cats with 23 points as she went 8-for-20 and 6-for-15 from downtown.
 
Bloomsburg has the week off from contests as the Huskies take their fall finals before returning to action on Saturday, December 14. The Huskies host Jefferson in a non-conference contest at 1:00 p.m. at Nelson Field House. The Rams are currently 4-4 for the year.