BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – A big third quarter and balanced effort on both ends of the court led the Bloomsburg women's basketball team to a 68-53 victory over Mansfield in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division contest Wednesday night inside the Nelson Field House.
 
Leading 29-26 at the half, the Huskies (6-10, 4-8 PSAC) outscored Mansfield (2-14, 1-11 PSAC) 20-8 in the third quarter and received some solid individual efforts throughout the game in order to pull off the 15-point victory.
 
The Huskies had four different players in double figures, nine different players score, and five different players record at least one block or a steal in addition to 35 points from non-starters in the win.
 
The victory also keeps up a hot streak for Bloomsburg, which has now won four of its last five games.
 
Emma Gochnauer (Strasburg, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg), Abby Brown (Phillipsburg, N.J./Bethlehem Catholic) and Lauren Kirsch (Palmyra, PA/Lower Dauphin) each led the way in scoring for the Huskies with 12 points apiece. Freshman forward Hailey Hudak (Schwenksville, PA/Spring Ford) was the fourth Bloomsburg player in double figures, tying her career-high of 10 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting night.
 
Gochnauer, Brown and Kirsch played a big role in building Bloomsburg's early lead as the three players combined to score 22 of the team's 29 points at the half. Gochnauer scored nine of her 12 points in that span and also recorded all three her of her steals in the opening half, which is tied for the most by a Husky player this season. Brown scored six of her 12 in the first half and also came down with four of her team-high six rebounds. Kirsch was a perfect 2-for-2 from two-point range and knocked down a three to come away with seven points in the half.
 
After a bank-and-forth first quarter, Mansfield was able to gain its biggest lead of the game early on in the second quarter when the team went up 22-17 with 7:51 remaining after back-to-back field goals. However, Bloomsburg responded with a 12-2 scoring run over the course of the next six and a half minutes to go up 29-24 with 1:15 to play. A field goal by Mansfield's Danae Ellzy with under a minute to play brought it back to a one-possession game before the break as her field goal made it 29-26.
 
Bloomsburg's big third quarter saw seven different players score a basket as the team shot 50% (6-for-12) from the floor and 85.7% (6-for-7) from the free-throw line as the Huskies built the first double-digit lead of the game. Even more impressive was the squad's defense, which limited Mansfield to a 2-for-15 (13.3%) shooting performance in the frame. Additionally, four of the Mansfield's eight points in the quarter came from the charity stripe and helped the Mountaineers keep their deficit at bay.
 
Bloomsburg's hot shooting performance continued in the fourth quarter and helped the team keep a comfortable lead. The Huskies shot 57.1% (8-for-14) in the fourth and received a boost from Brown, Hudak and Alison Hileman, who combined for 14 of the team's 19 points in the frame. Hileman scored all four of her points in the frame, and Hudak went 3-for-3 from two-point range to score six of her 10 points. Brown knocked down a pair of field goals to score four points in the fourth.
 
Coming off a big game the last time Bloomsburg was at home, Megan Fisher (New Holland, Pa./Garden Spot) played an efficient game and came on big in the second half, which is when she scored seven of her nine points on a 100% (2-for-2) shooting performance. The junior guard finished the contest with two threes, five rebounds, a block, and a plus-minus of +19. Gochnauer led the Huskies with a plus-minus of +23.
 
Mansfield's Jasmine Hilton led all players with 19 points in addition to five steals and 12 rebounds. Alivia Paeglow had 12 points and Ellzy was the team's final player in double figures, totaling 10 points.
 
As a team, the Mountaineers finished the game shooting 32.3% (21-for-65) from the field. Meanwhile, Bloomsburg shot 49% (25-51).
 
Bloomsburg will return to action with a pair of road games later this week. On Wednesday, the Huskies will travel to Kutztown (9-9, 7-5 PSAC). Then on Saturday, Bloomsburg plays at West Chester (11-7, 8-4 PSAC).