BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg University women's basketball team cut the lead to three with just over six minutes to play in regulation but could not complete the comeback as West Chester held on for a 74-64 win in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) action, Saturday afternoon. The Huskies dropped to 8-9 on the year and 5-8 in the PSAC with the loss while the Golden Rams improved to 7-11 on the year and 5-8 in conference action with the win.
 
Junior Emma Saxton (York, Pa./Central York) led the Huskies with 13 points while junior Megan Brandt (Lebanon, Pa./Northern Lebanon) posted 12 points and a team-best five rebounds. Freshman McKenna Hayward (Ebensburg, Pa./Central Cambria) finished the game with eight points, four steals, and four assists while senior Taylor Montana (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) added five points, four assists, and three rebounds.
 
As a team, the Huskies shot 43.6% from the field (24-of-55) and were 6-of-19 (31.6%) from three-point range. Bloomsburg was 10-of-15 from the free throw line (66.7%) for the game. West Chester won the rebounding battle 31-26 and shot 54.2% (26-of-48) for the game. The Golden Rams were 7-of-12 (58.3%) from beyond the arc and 15-of-22 (68.2%) from the free throw line. West Chester was led by Alexis Anderson with 32 points behind a 11-of-16 day from the field and 5-of-6 from beyond the arc.
 
With 7:25 to play in the first, Montana made a layup under the basket to put the Huskies up 4-2 but Anderson answered with a three to give the lead back to West Chester. Saxton came down the court and made her layup to retake the lead for the Huskies, 6-5, with 6:46 to play. That proved to be the last lead for the Huskies, however, as Justyn Roberts tied the game at 6-6 with a free throw and Anderson gave the Golden Rams the lead for good, 8-6, with 4:52 to play in the first. West Chester extended their lead to seven, 20-13, at the end of the first.
 
The Golden Rams led by as many as 13, 33-20, midway through the second quarter but the Huskies used a 12-9 run to close the quarter and cut the lead to nine, 41-32 going into halftime. Freshman Megan Fisher (New Holland, Pa./Garden Spot) hit a jumper with 22 seconds left in the half to close the scoring.
 
With 3:44 to play in the third, West Chester took its largest lead of the game, 55-38, but a pair of free throws by redshirt junior Meghan Corridoni (Exeter, Pa./Holy Redeemer) kicked off a 12-1 run to end the quarter and trim the lead down to six, 56-50, with a quarter to play. Saxton opened the fourth quarter with a pair of free throws just nine seconds into action to cut the lead down to four, 56-52. The Golden Rams answered with a layup on the other end of the court just six seconds later but the Huskies used an 8-5 run over the next three and half minutes to cut the lead to three, 63-60, with 6:19 to play in regulation.
 
West Chester hit a pair of free throws on its next possession to push the lead back to five and Katherine Fisher made a layup with 4:29 to play to push the lead back to seven, 67-60. After senior Bella Ricci's (Etters, Pa./Red Land) jumper at the 4:08 mark, the Golden Rams went on a 7-0 run to take a 74-62 lead with 1:02 to play in the fourth. Hayward forced a turnover with a steal and finished with a layup to cut the lead to 74-64 with 30 seconds to play and the Golden Rams were able to run out the clock to seal the 74-64 win.
 
The Huskies and Golden Rams are tied for sixth in the PSAC East standings, though West Chester currently holds the tie-breaker over Bloomsburg. Six teams from each of the two PSAC divisions advance to the conference playoffs set to begin on March 2.
 
Bloomsburg gets back to action on Wednesday as the Huskies travel to Kutztown on Wednesday, January 29 to kick off a pair of road games. The Huskies and Golden Bears get under way at 5:30 p.m. in PSAC action. The Golden Bears come into the game 11-8 over and 8-5 in the PSAC after falling to Shepherd, 70-62, Saturday.