INDIANA, Pa. - The Bloomsburg women's basketball team cruised to a 68-43 victory over Salem (WV) for the first win of the season Sunday afternoon.

In a game dictated by the referees' whistles, the Huskies were better able to find a rhythm throughout the contest, pulling away in the second half. In all, 42 fouls were issued to both sides across 40 minutes.

Leah Kale (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) was the offensive star of the contest for the Huskies, leading the team with a career-high 17 points on 5-of-9 (55.5 percent) shooting from the floor while going 2-for-5 (40 percent) from behind the arc and a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line with three assists and two rebounds.

In a game with a large lead and foul trouble, Bloomsburg turned to its crop of freshmen to close out the contest. Maddison Maynard (Lansford, Pa./Panther Valley) led the group in scoring, finishing with 10 points to go with three rebounds, a steal and an assist. Kalleigh Nerone (Pittsburgh, Pa./Highlands) led the group in minutes played while going 3-for-3 from the field with six points and three rebounds. Lex Ferguson (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) had seven points and five boards and tacked on a steal. Kash Santos (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic) rounded out the quartet with four points and five rebounds in the contest.

The Huskies move to 1-1 overall as Salem drops to 2-0 to start its season.

How It Happened: 
The matchup was even through the first quarter as both sides faced ups and downs in establishing an early footing. Bloomsburg took the first swing in the game with a three from L. Kale to make it 7-3. The Tigers closed the gap to tie things up at 8-8 before Nerone regained the lead for the Huskies with her first make of the day.

Ava Stevenson (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) took advantage of Salem's early foul trouble in the closing minutes to earn a pair of trips to the charity stripe, converting on all four free throw attempts to put Bloomsburg up, 14-8. Stevenson closed the quarter with a fastbreak layup off a rebound to give the Huskies a 16-10 lead through the first quarter.

Ella Kale (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) helped Bloomsburg get off to a fast start in the second quarter. The Huskies' lead guard set up Stevenson and Santos for their buckets while knocking down a short-range jumper of her own to make it 23-15. Bloomsburg's lead grew to as much as 11 in the second, but a quick 6-0 run from Salem cut the lead to 26-21 with a little over four minutes to play in the half. 

Maddie LaFrance (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) got the Huskies' offense on track with a triple amid a back-and-forth exchange between the two teams. Maynard ripped off four consecutive points for Bloomsburg, and Alison Hatajik (Duncansville, Pa./Hollidaysburg) dropped in a layup to give Bloomsburg a 39-29 edge into halftime. Hatajik finished Sunday's contest with a team-high seven rebounds.

The Kale sisters picked up where they left off in the first half and kept things rolling for the Huskies, scoring their team's first nine points of the third quarter. Ferguson joined in on the tandem in their scoring efforts with six points en route to a 17-4 third quarter to put Bloomsburg up 56-33 with 10 minutes remaining. The trio shot a combined 7-of-10 from the floor and were responsible for all 17 points in the quarter (L. Kale - 7, Ferguson - 6, E. Kale - 4).

The Huskies turned to their bench in the fourth to close the game and got solid contributions across the board. The team shot 6-of-12 from the field, led by Maynard and Nerone, while finishing with a 10-6 edge on the glass in the final quarter to secure the win.

Numbers to Know: 
26 - E. Kale was a driving force for Bloomsburg all afternoon, with her presence felt all over the court. The senior finished the game with a plus-minus of 26 to go with her eight points, four assists, three rebounds, a steal and a block.

43 - The Huskies' defensive play has provided a solid base of play through the first two games. The 43 points scored by Salem is the fewest by an opponent since Shepherd scored 37 on January 14, 2023.

30 - Through the first two contests, opponents have been able to get to the foul line against Bloomsburg. Of the 97 points scored against the Huskies this weekend, 30 came from the free throw line, with opponents only shooting 62.5 percent.

27 & 52 - The Huskies found time and supplied early-season minutes to their first-year players. The four freshmen for Bloomsburg totaled 52 minutes and combined for 27 points.

On The Horizon:
The Huskies are back on the court on Saturday, November 16, at 2:00 p.m. for a road matchup against Georgian Court.