MANSFIELD, Pa. – The Bloomsburg women's basketball team fell to Mansfield by a final score of 54-45 during an away Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division contest Wednesday evening. 
 
The Huskies (9-14, 7-12 PSAC) led early on and only trailed by three points heading into the fourth quarter, but some solid defense by the Mounties (3-21, 2-18 PSAC) and high percentage field goal attempts inside the key propelled Mansfield to the nine-point victory.
 
Mansfield held Bloomsburg to a 31.4% (16-for-51) shooting percentage, scored 38 points in the paint and scored 23 points off turnovers to snag the win.  
 
Bloomsburg was led in scoring by Katie Starr (Berwick, PA/Berwick), who finished two rebounds short of recording a double-double. Starr finished the game with 15 points and eight rebounds, and the sophomore was 5-for-6 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free throw line. 
 
Lauren Kirsch (Palmyra, PA/Lower Dauphin) finished the game in double figures for the second consecutive game and had 11 points after knocking down three three-point field goals in the game. Emma Gochnauer (Strasburg, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) also tallied 10 points to go along with seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. Abby Brown (Phillipsburg, N.J./Bethlehem Catholic) led all players in rebounds with 10. 
 
For Mansfield, Alivia Paeglow paced the team's offense and led all scorers with 23 points. Paeglow was the only Mountie in double figures as the team finished with 20 points from bench players.
 
Bloomsburg scored the first points of the game to take an early lead when Starr knocked down two free throws on the team's second possession of the game. The first quarter continued to be a back-and-forth affair as the opening period saw three lead changes, but the Huskies led 11-8 after going on a 6-0 scoring run towards the end of the quarter. 
 
The second quarter started off with Alison Hileman knocking down a field goal on Bloomsburg's first possession of the period to put the Huskies up 13-8, but Mansfield answered with a quick 6-0 scoring run to go up 14-13. That lead change would be the first of three that transpired in the quarter, but Mansfield ended the period on a 6-0 scoring run to lead 25-19 at the half.  
 
Leading by six in the third, Mansfield stretched its lead to double digits by scoring on its first two possessions of the quarter. However, an and-one that was converted by Starr and three-pointer by Ella Kale (Spring Grove, PA/Spring Grove) on back-to-possessions cut Bloomsburg's deficit to just four with the score at 29-24. Bloomsburg later cut the deficit to just one point after a scoring spurt by Starr, but Mansfield would enter the fourth quarter with a three-point lead after Paeglow scored with 12 seconds remaining in the frame. Starr scored 10 of her 15 points in the third quarter to keep the Huskies within striking distance. 
 
The game was within reach of both teams in the early goings of the fourth quarter and the Huskies again trailed by one point after a pair of free throws by Kirsch made it a 44-43 game with 7:14 left to play. From there, however, Mansfield went on a scoring run that would ultimately give them the final advantage in the game. Following Kirsch's second free throw, the Mounties scored 10 unanswered points over the course of the next six minutes of play to regain a double-digit lead. A layup by Gochnauer with 1:16 left would be final points of the game and made the contest 54-45 in favor of Mansfield. 
 
Mansfield finished the game 22-for-62 (35.5%) from the field, but the team's scoring inside the paint and points on turnovers would go on to be the difference. The Mounties' stifling defensive performance forced Bloomsburg to cough up the ball 27 times, which led to 23 points for Mansfield.
 
The Huskies currently sit in the No. 7 spot of the PSAC East Standings. Bloomsburg is scheduled to play its next contest on Saturday at Shippensburg (20-5, 15-4 PSAC), which is tied for first place in the division. The game will tip off at 1:00 PM.