AMHERST, N.Y. – The Bloomsburg women's basketball team lost its first road game of the season, 69-60, to Daemen Wednesday evening.
Katie Starr (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) continued a tremendous start to the 2023 season, putting up a game-high 22 points while recording eight rebounds and two assists. The junior anchored the post throughout the matchup, matching a career-best with four steals and setting a new career-high with four blocks in the loss.
Ella Kale (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) continued to excel as a primary ballhandler, tallying eight points, seven assists and five rebounds.
Despite finishing with a higher shooting percentage on the night, 48.1 percent, the Huskies lost the edge in the other shooting categories. The Wildcats were 42.1 percent from three compared to Bloomsburg at an 18.8 percent clip. Daemen also had the advantage at the free throw line, taking twice as many attempts (16) as the Huskies (8).
How It Happened:
Bloomsburg was in a good rhythm early in the contest, going 9-of-14 from the field (64.3 percent) through the first quarter.
Maddie LaFrance (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) continued to be the go-to early look for the Huskies' offensive as the guard scored the opening points of the game.
The Huskies went over two minutes without a basket before Starr knocked down her first jumper to make it 4-4 at the seven-minute mark. The junior followed her basket with her first block of the contest on the following play. Down 8-12, Bloomsburg went on a 12-0 run into the closing moments of the first quarter before Daemen responded with four points in the final minute to make it a 20-16 lead for the Huskies.
The Wildcats knocked down their initial two three-point attempts of the second quarter as Starr and
Ava Stevenson (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) responded with their own makes to maintain a 24-22 edge. The two teams traded points throughout the second before Daemen closed the quarter on a 9-5 run to take a two-point advantage into the break.
Bloomsburg, however, would be unable to recapture the lead at any point in the second half. Both teams struggled from the field coming out of halftime as the Wildcats continued to stay out in front. Starr and
Allison Hileman (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg) recorded four points each in the third, as Hileman finished the game with 10 points and five assists.
In the fourth quarter, the Huskies pieced together an efficient 6-of-10 shooting (60.0 percent) run in the final 10 minutes but lost the rebounding margin 8-5 while giving up four offensive boards, allowing Daemen to keep its lead. Starr opened the quarter to cut the Huskies' deficit to one point, but the home side quickly began to pull away in the latter stages of the night.
Stevenson was active all night along the perimeter, recording a career-high three steals in the defeat.
On the Horizon:
The Huskies play their first home game of the season at Nelson Field House on Saturday, November 18, against Chestnut Hill at 3:00 p.m.
