BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg University women's basketball team honored its two graduating seniors Saturday before its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) contest, but the Shippensburg University Raiders came away with a 73-64 win. Despite the loss, the Huskies clinched the No. 6 seed in the upcoming PSAC Tournament. Bloomsburg fell to 12-13 on the year and 9-12 in conference action while the Raiders improved to 19-7 for the season and 16-4 in conference play.
The Huskies honored graduating seniors
Taylor Montana (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) and
Bella Ricci (Etters, Pa./Red Land) before the game. Following the game, the Huskies learned of West Chester's loss to Lock Haven which wrapped up the final seed in the PSAC tournament for Bloomsburg.
Junior
Emma Saxton (York, Pa./Central York) led Bloomsburg with 15 points while junior
Megan Brandt (Lebanon, Pa./Northern Lebanon) chipped in 14 points and six rebounds. Ricci finished the day with 10 points and six rebounds as well. Freshman
McKenna Hayward (Ebensburg, Pa./Central Cambria) dished out a team-best four assists and posted seven points.
As a team, the Huskies shot 39.1% (25-of-64) from the field and were 3-of-13, with Ricci hitting a pair of threes. The Huskies were 11-of-16 (68.8%) from the free throw line. Bloomsburg was narrowly edged in the rebound battle by the Raiders, 40-39, though Shippensburg held a 16-6 advantage in second-chance points.
The Raiders were led by Ariel Jones with 17 points, who was 5-for-15 from the field and 6-of-9 from the free throw line. Kryshell Gordy just missed a double-double for the Raiders with 10 points and nine rebounds. The Raiders converted the 17 Husky turnovers into 23 points while Bloomsburg converted the Raiders 15 turnovers into just 13 points.
Montana got the Huskies out to an early 2-0 lead with a jumper in the paint after a steal by junior
Payton Spadaccino (Ivyland, Pa./Council Rock South) and assist from Brandt. The Raiders tied the game on their next trip down the floor. The two teams traded buckets on their next two possessions but the Huskies used a 4-0 sprint to take an 8-4 lead. The Raiders took their first lead of the game as they went on a 5-0 run of their own to lead 9-8 with 5:38 to play in the first.
Brandt gave the lead back to Bloomsburg with a jumper at 5:12 and the Huskies used an 8-2 run to close out the quarter with a 15-12 advantage.
Ricci hit a three to open the second quarter to push the Husky lead to six, but the Raiders chipped away and cut the deficit to one on four separate occasions, the last being with 5:31 to play before halftime.
The Raiders retook the lead with 4:13 to play, 27-26, and pushed their advantage to 29-26 before Bloomsburg used a 3-0 run to tie the game, 29-29. The Huskies took the lead 31-29 but Gordy and Destiny Jefferson combined for five points to give Shippensburg a 34-31 advantage. Junior
Meghan Corridoni (Exeter, Pa./Holy Redeemer) made a jumper with 35 seconds left to cut the lead to one at the break.
In a tightly contested third quarter, the two teams traded the lead six times and found themselves tied twice. Bloomsburg held its final lead, 41-40, with 5:18 to play in the third. Jones gave the lead back to the Raiders with a three at the 5:00 mark and Shippensburg held the lead for the rest of the quarter and carried a 51-48 advantage into the fourth.
Saxton cut the lead back down to one with a layup to open the fourth but that would be as close as the Huskies could get to the Raiders as they used a 9-2 run over the next five minutes to take a 60-52 lead. Bloomsburg cut the lead back down to four, 64-60, but the Raiders closed out the game on a 9-4 run to seal the 73-64 victory.
The Huskies conclude the regular season on Wednesday as they host Kutztown for a 5:30 p.m. contest. The Golden Bears have secured a trip to the PSAC tournament with a 14-6 league record but are in the hunt for a first-round bye with two games left in the regular season.
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