PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Bloomsburg women's basketball team lost its third consecutive game with a 73-65 defeat to Holy Family Wednesday evening.

After being named the D2CIDA Women's Basketball Player of the Week and PSAC Defensive Athlete of the Week, Katie Starr (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) continued her tremendous start with her fifth consecutive 20-point game this season. The forward ended the night with 23 points, nine rebounds, two steals and a block. 

Maddie LaFrance (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) was the other Husky in double figures, recording 16 points on the night. Ella Kale (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) matched a career-high with 11 assists on the evening while finishing second on the team with seven rebounds.

How It Happened: 
Bloomsburg got a quick start in the game, jumping to a 17-13 lead through the first quarter. The teams were neck-and-neck in the first five and a half minutes, with the Tigers grabbing a 7-6 advantage.

Ava Stevenson (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) and Starr spurred the Huskies to an 11-2 run, each knocking down a pair of shots for four points. Kale and Allison Hileman (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg) facilitated the stretch with two assists apiece. Leah Kale (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) capped off the scoring effort in the first quarter with a three to give Bloomsburg a 17-9 edge.

The Huskies were up by as much as eight in the second as Holy Family began to chip away at its deficit. With under a minute left in the half, LaFrance scored her first points of the game for a three-point Bloomsburg lead. Carly Bolivar converted an and-one attempt to tie the game at 31-31 entering halftime.

LaFrance kept the Huskies in the game during the third quarter, leading the team with three three-point makes and 10 total points. The two sides exchanged the lead several times before evening out at 40-40. The Tigers ended the third quarter outscoring Bloomsburg 9-4 to take a 49-44 lead into the final 10 minutes.

The two teams began to pour it on offensively in the fourth quarter with a combined 45 points. With over six minutes played in the fourth, Holy Family possessed a 13-point advantage with a 16-8 scoring edge with over three minutes remaining. Starr attempted to bring the Huskies back with six points in the fourth, but the Tigers continued to get to the free throw line and keep the game out of reach. 

Starr's historic start to the 2023 campaign continues, becoming the only player dating back to 2011 for the Huskies to score 20 points in any five-game stretch during a season. E. Kale continues to make her mark on the season, becoming the only player in the same stretch to have multiple games with double-digit assists.

On the Horizon:
The Huskies prepare for a pair of games at home, beginning with the first PSAC game of the season against Gannon at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, December 1.