PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – A stifling defensive effort in the fourth quarter lifted the women's basketball team to a 70-69 win over Chestnut Hill Wednesday evening to open up the 2022-23 regular season.

The Huskies (1-0, 0-0 PSAC East) held the Griffins (2-1, 0-0 CACC) to just five points in the final frame, and a defensive stop on the final possession of the game allowed Bloomsburg to hang on to the one-point victory. 
 
On the final possession of the game, Chestnut Hill's Bri Hewlett drove the right side of the lane and threw up a contested shot that could have put the Griffins on top with seconds remaining, but some tight defense by Bloomsburg's Emma Gochnauer (Strasburg, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) forced the shot to come up short as the final seconds ticked off the clock. 
 
The Huskies trailed by four points entering the fourth quarter, but a layup and pair of free throws by Katelin Starr knotted the game up at 64-64 within the first two minutes of the final quarter. A field goal by Megan Fisher (New Holland, Pa./Garden Spot) then gave Bloomsburg the final lead change of the game, and the Huskies were able to hang on for the victory.
 
Fisher and Starr had four points each in the quarter, and Abby Brown (Phillipsburg, N.J./Bethlehem Catholic) made a clutch jumper with two minutes left as Bloomsburg outscored Chestnut Hill 10-5 in the fourth.  
 
Starr was tied for a team-high 14 points with teammate Ella Kale (Spring Grove, PA/Spring Grove). Kale had 12 of her 14 points in the first half and buried two three-point field goals to go along with four assists. Starr led all players with eight rebounds and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. 
 
Allison Hileman (Hollidaysburg, PA/Hollidaysburg) was 4-for-4 from three-point range to finish with 12 points, and the sophomore guard led the Huskies with five assists. 
 
Fisher finished the game with nine points and Brown had six. Lauren Kirsch (Palmyra, PA/Lower Dauphin) added five points in 14 minutes and Hailey Hudak (Schwenksville, PA/Spring Ford) had two points, four assists and four rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench. 
 
Chestnut Hill's offense started the game off hot and a 67% field goal percentage in the opening quarter had the Griffins on top 24-16. Chestnut Hill knocked down four three-pointers in the first quarter and had eight different players score as the home team jumped out to their early eight-point lead. Early offensive by Kale and Gochnauer kept the Huskies in the game in the first as the two players combined for 11 of the team's first 16 points. 
 
Bloomsburg flipped the script in the second quarter by outscoring Chestnut Hill 24-15 to take a 40-39 lead into halftime. The big second quarter was sparked by Starr, who scored eight points in the frame and was 3-for-4 from the field in addition to a pair of made free throws. Kirsch scored all five of her points in the second quarter, and Kale added five more points as she was 2-for-2 on field goal attempts. 
 
In the third quarter, the Griffins trailed the Huskies 58-55 with two minutes left, but Chestnut Hill went on a quick nine-point run to go up 64-58. The run was sparked by a three pointer that was made by Hewlett, who scored 10 of her 15 points in the quarter. Hewlett was one of two players finishing with double figures, the other being Siobhan Boylan, who had 14 points.
 
Bloomsburg then went on to shut down Chestnut Hill's offense in the fourth quarter and the Huskies outscored the Griffins by five points in the final period to win its first game of the 2022-23 season.
 
The Huskies finished the game shooting 49% (26-53) from the field and 44% (7-16) from beyond the arc. 
 
Bloomsburg had 19 bench points and held the advantage in second-chance points, 12-10.  
 
The Huskies will hit the road on Friday for their next competition, which will be an exhibition game at Lehigh University.