SHEPHERDSTOWN, W. Va. – The Bloomsburg women's basketball team suffered a 78-68 defeat on the road Saturday afternoon.

The Huskies pieced together one of their best offensive performances in recent games, but poor shooting in the fourth quarter prevented Bloomsburg from closing the game in the fourth. Katie Starr (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) led the Huskies on the afternoon with 21 points to go with five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Lauren Kirsch (Palmyra, Pa./Lower Dauphin) provided some quality scoring from the guard spot, finishing the day with 15 points and two assists while knocking down three triples. Ella Kale (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) continued her season of well-rounded performances, coming down with nine rebounds and dishing seven assists while blocking two shots.   

The Huskies now sit at 4-14 overall with a 2-10 mark against PSAC opponents. The Rams improve to 4-13 with a 2-10 record in conference action.

How It Happened: 
Bloomsburg found a needed offensive rhythm to open the game but left itself vulnerable on the defensive end. After Shepherd knocked down the game's first basket, Kirsch settled in with a three-point shot to give the Huskies the lead. A slew of Bloomsburg players got involved in an 8-0 run for a 13-6 lead with 5:30 to play in the first. 

The Rams answered in the latter half of the quarter with a 12-0 stretch propelled by the three-point shooting. Leah Kale (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) hit her first three of the game with 1:26 to stop the run but was quickly answered by Shepherd's Peyton Grant to help the home side to a 26-21 lead after one. 

The Huskies looked to get back into the contest and got an early spark with Kirsch's second three-pointer. Bloomsburg regained the lead at 30-29 following a 6-0 burst with four points from Starr. The Rams recaptured the lead at the 5:00 mark as the two teams continued to trade baskets. Maddie LaFrance (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) knocked down a triple for the third lead change of the quarter before Shpeherd closed out the half with the final four points to take a 38-35 advantage into the break. Both teams shot above 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from behind the arc in the first half, with the key difference on the scoring end behind an 11-4 free throw edge for the home side.

The third quarter emulated the back-and-forth nature of the game. Shepherd held on to a five-point advantage for much of the quarter and leveraged that to as much as a seven-point lead. Ava Stevenson (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) rattled off five points at the end of the third quarter to keep the game within one as the Rams entered the fourth with a 54-53 lead.

The fourth quarter started with the two teams continuing to battle, with both sides relying on offense to bring home the win. Starr recorded the first five points of the fourth to give the Huskies a 58-54 lead. The two teams kept it close as the Rams began to pull out in front with an 8-0 run to take a 67-60 advantage with 4:46 remaining. Bloomsburg had opportunities to cut into a growing Shepherd lead but could not knock down the needed shots to make a comeback.

On the Horizon:
The Huskies continue a stretch of four games in eight days with a trip to take on Lock Haven on Monday, January 29, at 5:30 p.m.