CLARION, Pa. – The Bloomsburg women's basketball team escaped a late-game comeback attempt by the Golden Eagles of Clarion and held on for a 62-56 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) win, Wednesday night. The win snapped a two-game skid for the Huskies and pushed their overall record to 8-9 and 5-6 in the PSAC. With the loss, Clarion fell to 3-15 on the year and 1-10 in conference action.
 
With 41 seconds left to play, Yasmin Lewis pulled down the offensive board and put it back up for Clarion to cut the Bloomsburg lead to seven, 58-51. Redshirt junior Meghan Corridoni (Exeter, Pa./Holy Redeemer) drew a foul immediately into the ensuing Bloomsburg possession and made both of her free throws to push the Huskies' lead back to nine, 60-51. Clarion answered just seven seconds later with a three to pull back to within to within six, 60-54, with 33 seconds to play in regulation. After a pair of missed free throws by Bloomsburg, Emily Hegedus was fouled on the other end of the court and made both of her free throws to cut the lead to four, 60-56, with 21 seconds left. The four-point deficit was the smallest of the second half for Clarion. Neither team could finish a clean possession for the next 19 seconds before Corridoni drew a foul on a defensive rebound with just two seconds left on the clock. Corridoni put the game away with a pair of free throws to seal the 62-56 win for Bloomsburg.
 
Bloomsburg took control of the game early as the Huskies ran away with an 11-0 lead in the first 3:45 of play. The Golden Eagles answered with an 11-point run of their own to end the first quarter and tie the game 11-11 at the first intermission.
 
Freshman Emma Gochnauer (Strasburg, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) finished a block-defensive rebound-fastbbreak sequence for Bloomsburg just 27 seconds into the second quarter to give Bloomsburg back the lead, 13-11. The two teams traded the next two bucked with Gochnauer finishing another layup for the 15-13 lead with 9:14 to play before halftime. Gochnauer made the backend of a trip to the free throw line just under a minute later before the Golden Eagles went on an 8-2 run over the next 3:19 to take a 21-18 lead with 4:55 to go in the second.
 
A free throw from junior Megan Brandt (Lebanon, Pa./Northern Lebanon) cut the lead back to two, 21-19, and she made a layup at the 3:28 mark to tie the game 21-21. Brandt completed five-straight points to give the lead back to Bloomsburg for good, 23-21. The Huskies finished the quarter on an 8-2 run, capped by a jumper from junior Emma Saxton (York, Pa./Central York), to hold a 31-23 lead at halftime.
 
Freshman McKenna Hayward (Ebensburg, Pa./Central Cambria) kicked off the scoring in the second half with a jumper at the 9:10 mark to give Bloomsburg a 10-point lead for the first time since the first quarter. Jada Smith answered for the Golden Eagles with a three of her own just 16 seconds later to cut the lead down to seven, 33-26. Hayward pushed the lead back to nine, 35-26, with 8:32 to play before the two teams went back-and-forth over the next five minutes. With 3:05 to play in the third, senior Bella Ricci (Etters, Pa./Red Land) hit a jumper to kick off a 9-2 run for the Huskies to close the quarter and give Bloomsburg a 48-34 lead heading into the final frame.
 
The first 1:33 of the fourth quarter were scoreless until Saxton hit a pair of free throws to push the Bloomsburg lead to 50-34. Hegedus made a layup 23 seconds later to cut the lead down to 14, 50-36, but Hayward drained a three to give Bloomsburg its largest lead of the game, 53-36, with 7:35 to play.
 
Bloomsburg maintained its double-digit lead until Clarion cut it down to eight, 55-47, with 2:32 left in regulation. Brandt made a layup to extend the lead back to 10, 57-47, to play for the last double-digit lead of the game for Bloomsburg. A layup from Ke'Airah Massiah cut the lead down to eight, 55-47, and kicked off Clarion's comeback attempt that fell short.
 
Saxton led the Huskies with 15 points while Corridoni finished with a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double. Hayward finished the trio of Huskies in double figures with 12 points. As a team, the Huskies shot 42.9% from the field (24-of-56) and were 12-for-19 (63.2%) from the free throw line. Bloomsburg won the rebounding battle 42-41 and turned the Golden Eagles' 13 turnovers into 14 points.
 
Bloomsburg gets back on the hardwood on Saturday as they host West Chester University at 1:00 p.m. for a PSAC showdown. The Golden Rams come into the game 6-11 on the year and 4-8 in conference play after a 57-41 loss to East Stroudsburg Wednesday night. Prior to the game, the Bloomsburg University athletic department and women's basketball team will host its annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day Clinic. The clinic is offered to all boys and girls from kindergarten to eighth grade and will begin at 10:00 a.m. For additional information or to register for the event, please contact Eric McCabe at 570-389-3907 or via e-mail at emccabe@bloomu.edu. Although registration is preferred, walk-ins will certainly be welcome to participate.