BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg women's basketball team got back in the win column Wednesday with a 70-60 win over visiting Mansfield University in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) action. The Huskies improved to 11-11 on the year and 8-10 in conference play while the Mountaineers dropped to 3-21 for the season and 1-17 in the PSAC.
 
Junior Emma Saxton (York, Pa./Central York) led the Huskies for the second-straight game and fourth time in the last five games with 15 points while junior Megan Brandt (Lebanon, Pa./Northern Lebanon) chipped in 13 pints and pulled down seven rebounds. Senior Taylor Montana (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) added six points and seven boards as well. Saxton tied her career high in assists with another seven-assist performance.
 
As a team, the Huskies shot 37.5% (21-of-56) from the field for the game and were 7-of-13 from beyond the arc. Bloomsburg hit 21 of its 30 free throws (70.0%). Bloomsburg won the rebounding battle 43-34 and out-scored the Mountaineers 14-9 in second chance points. Each team finished with 17 turnovers, but the Huskies were able to convert the Mounties turnovers into 19 points while Mansfield scored 12 points off of the 17 Bloomsburg turnovers.
 
Mansfield shot 35.2% (19-of-54) from the field for the game and were 7-of-19 from three-point range. The Mounties were 15-of-19 from the free throw line. Mansfield was led by Sydney Reed with 15 points and Alivia Paeglow finished the day with 14.
 
After a slow start offensively for both teams, the Huskies used a 5-0 run over three minutes of game action in the first quarter to build a 7-2 lead with 1:54 to play before the intermission. Jasmine Perez cut the lead to three, 7-4, at the 1:37 mark but freshman McKenna Hayward (Ebensburg, Pa./Central Cambria) drained a three at the 1:20 mark to push the lead to six, 10-4. Saxton ended the quarter with her first three of the game with just three seconds left before the horn to give Bloomsburg a 13-4 lead at the end of the first.
 
Bloomsburg took its first double-double lead of the game as redshirt junior Lauren Oeth (Doylestown, Pa./Germantown Academy) hit a jumper 1:22 into action to give the Huskies a 15-4 lead. The Mounties came storming back and scored nine unanswered points to cut the lead back down to two, 15-13, with 5:17 to go before halftime. Montana ended the run with a jumper of her own at the 4:58 mark and Bloomsburg went on a 9-3 run to end the half and carry a 27-16 lead into the break.
 
The Huskies extended their lead to 23 with a 14-2 run to open the third quarter. The run spanned over seven minutes of game play and was highlighted by five different players scoring for the Huskies, including redshirt junior Meghan Corridoni (Exeter, Pa./Holy Redeemer) with four points and Hayward with four as well. A three-pointer from Reed for Mansfield at the 2:26 mark halted the Huskies' run but freshman Emma Gouchnaur hit a pair of free throws to push the lead back to 22, 43-21, with 2:15 to play. Mansfield mounted a quick 6-2 run to cut the lead back to 18, 45-27, with 1:12 to play in the quarter but Brandt drained a three as time expired to give Bloomsburg a 48-27 lead with 10 minutes to play.
 
Brandt made a layup at the 9:13 mark to tie the largest lead for the Huskies, 50-27, but the Mounties hung around while Bloomsburg maintained its double-digit lead. With 5:32 to play in regulation, Reed hit a three to cut the lead to 16, 57-41, and kicked off a 12-1 run for the Mounties. The run cut the lead down to six, 58-52, with 2:26 to play. Junior Payton Spadaccino (Ivyland, Pa./Council Rock South) hit a pair of free throws on the Huskies' next possession to stop the run but Jasmine Hilton got the free throw line for Mansfield and hit the second of two foul shots to cut the lead back to seven, 60-53. Senior Bella Ricci (Etters, Pa./Red Land) answered with a pair of free throws of her own to extend the lead back to nine, 62-53, with 1:43 left on the clock. Reed hit another three to trim the lead to six, 62-56, but that would be as close as the Mounties would get for the rest of the game as Bloomsburg hit seven free throws in the final 1:11 to seal the 70-60 win.
 
With four conference games to play, the Huskies sit at sixth in the conference and are half of a game out of fifth place. The top six teams from each division go to the PSAC tournament which begins on March 2.
 
Bloomsburg begins its final push to playoffs on Saturday as the Huskies travel to West Chester University for a 1:00 p.m. contest. Currently, the Golden Rams are 6-11 in conference play, seventh in the division, after falling to Shepherd University 71-66, Wednesday evening. The Huskies lost to West Chester 74-64 earlier this season in Bloomsburg.

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