BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg women's basketball team fell in a tight contest to Kutztown, 53-47, Wednesday evening. With the loss, the Huskies fell to 9-16 and 7-14 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East action while the Golden Bears improved to 13-14 and 11-10.
 
Sophomore Katie Starr (Berwick, PA/Berwick) led the Huskies with 11 points while junior Emma Gochnauer (Strasburg, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) chipped in 10. Gochnauer finished with a game-high seven assists while Starr pulled down eight rebounds. Gochnauer and freshman Abby Brown (Phillipsburg, N.J./Bethlehem Catholic) each finished the day with six rebounds. Lauren Kirsch (Palmyra, PA/Lower Dauphin) and Ella Kale (Spring Grove, PA/Spring Grove) posted eight points for Bloomsburg.

The Huskies shot 36.2% (17-for-47) from the field and went 4-for-14 (28.6%) from three-point range. Bloomsburg was 9-for-12 (75%) from the free throw line.
 
The Golden Bears shot 39.5% (17-for-43) from the field but were 58.3% (7-for-12) from three-point range. They went 12-for-16 from the free throw line, including a 7-for-10 performance during the fourth quarter. The seven free throws for Kutztown in the final 10 minutes accounted for the only KU points in that period.
 
The Huskies quickly built a 7-3 lead over the first four minutes of the game thanks to four points from Starr and a three from Kirsch. The Golden Bears used a 7-0 run over the next two minutes to take a 10-7 lead before the lead changed hands four more times over the final four minutes of the quarter. Naia Pulliamn hit a pair of free throws for Kutztown in the final 45 seconds of the period to give the Golden Bears a 16-15 lead after the first 10 minutes.
 
After the back and forth first quarter, Kutztown pulled away with a 10-7 second period to take the 26-22 lead at halftime.
 
Gochnauer drove to the basket and made her layup to start the third as the Huskies cut the lead to two, 26-24. The Golden Bears used a 13-4 run over the next five minutes to take the largest lead of the game, 39-28, with 5:25 to play in the third. Allison Hileman (Hollidaysburg, PA/Hollidaysburg) drained a three at the 4:51 mark to halt the run but Annie Whalen made a layup on the other end of the court to push the lead back to 10, 41-31. Hileman and Kirsch made back-to-back threes to get within four, 41-37, with 1:59 to play. Whalen scored the quarter's final five points of the period to give Kutztown a 46-37 lead going into the final quarter.
 
The Huskies cut the lead to two, 49-47, with 1:24 to play thanks to a layup from Starr after she grabbed the defensive rebound. Kale blocked Zara Zerman's layup on the other end of the court and Starr got the defensive board. The Huskies' couldn't get their layup to fall and were forced to foul to stop the clock with less than 30 seconds to play. Zerman hit both of her free throws with 20 seconds on the clock to push the Golden Bears' lead to four, 51-47, and Pulliamn hit hers to seal the 53-47 win.
 
With the loss, the Huskies' hunt for the playoffs ends and will host West Chester on Saturday in the season finale for Bloomsburg. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m. and the Huskies will honor the graduating members of the team, the 2013 PSAC Championship team, 1,000-point scorers and other alumni of the program throughout the game.