WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The women's basketball team lost to West Chester 66-56 in a hard-fought Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division contest Saturday afternoon.
 
The Huskies (7-11, 5-9 PSAC) played right with the Golden Rams (13-7, 10-4 PSAC), but a strong second quarter by the division's second-place team led to a double-digit deficit that was too much for Bloomsburg to overcome.
 
The Huskies finished with three players in double figures and Emma Gochnauer (Strasburg, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) led the way with 17 points, three assists and six rebounds. Ella Kale (Spring Grove, PA/Spring Grove) was 5-for-9 from the field and had two steals to go along with 13 points. Katie Starr (Berwick, PA/Berwick) led the squad in rebounding with seven to go along with three assists, three steals and 11 points. Additionally, Alilison Hileman had a solid outing, scoring eight points and knocking down a pair of three-point shots in 28 minutes off the bench.
 
Bloomsburg started off the game shooting the ball well and finished the first quarter with a 71.43% field goal percentage (5-for-7). West Chester's offense was able to match the pace of Bloomsburg's offense, however, and the Golden Rams led for much of the quarter. The Huskies were able to grab their first lead of the game with just under two minutes to play after Hileman's first three of the contest, but that would go on to be the team's only lead of the game as West Chester closed out the quarter on a quick 5-0 scoring run to go up 19-16 heading into the second.  
 
West Chester continued its scoring run in the second quarter, extending the stretch to a 19-6 scoring run that led to its first double-digit lead of the game as the Golden Rams held a 33-22 advantage with 2:44 remaining in the first half. Starr was able to trim the deficit before the end of the quarter though, knocking down one free throw and scoring in the paint to make it a 33-25 game at the break.
 
In the third quarter, the Golden Rams led by double-digits at three different points in the frame, and then a sharp-shooting fourth quarter that saw West Chester go 7-for-12 (58.33%) from the floor helped the home team hang on for a 66-56 victory.
 
Bloomsburg finished the game with a 44.2% field goal percentage (19-for-43), which included a clip of 25% (3-for-12) from beyond the arc.
 
West Chester shot 47.3% from the floor (26-for-55) and only shot four three-point field goals, going 1-for-4 from three-point range. The Golden Rams lived inside the paint instead, scoring 40 of their 66 points inside the key.
 
Additionally, West Chester scored 25 points off turnovers and recorded eight points on second chance opportunities.
 
West Chester's Leah Johnson led all players with 25 points and recorded eight assists while playing all 40 minutes. Emily McAteer scored 15 points and Anna McTamney was the team's final player in double figures, tallying 11 points.

The Huskies will be back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 1, with a home game against Lock Haven (7-12, 5-9 PSAC). The game will celebrate National Girls & Women in Sports Day, which is Feb. 1, and the contest is scheduled to tip off at 5:30 PM.