BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg women's basketball team rebounded from weekend defeats in conference play to earn a 57-48 victory in the home opener at Nelson Field House against Holy Family Tuesday evening.

The Huskies (4-3) sustained a lead for most of the contest and took a 35-29 lead at the half against the previously unbeaten Tigers (6-1). Ava Stevenson (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) led the Huskies group of three double-digit scorers with a team-high 14 points in the contest, with a game-high four three-pointers made. 

The Huskies found opportunities to take advantage of Holy Family's four-guard lineup, with starting forwards Alison Hatajik (Duncansville, Pa./Hollidaysburg) and Katie Starr (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) combining for 22 points on 9-of-19 (47.4 percent) shooting from the floor. Starr wreaked havoc on the defensive end throughout the night. The senior wrapped up the game with a career-high five blocks and added two steals, recording multiple blocks and steals in the same game for the third time in her career.

How It Happened: 

The matchup was set up to be a defensive battle from the start, with the Tigers entering the game as a top-30 defense nationally in field goal percentage (13th), scoring (18th), and three-point defense (28th). Bloomsburg was not phased by the challenge, settling into a rhythm in the first quarter to get off to a good start. 

The Huskies took it right to Holy Family to open the game, with Hatajik stepping out for a three-pointer on the first offensive possession. Bloomsburg then made its first of many stellar defensive efforts, with Starr recording a steal and hitting Leah Kale (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) for a fastbreak layup for a 5-0 lead two minutes into the contest.

The teams traded subsequent baskets, with the Tigers having the shooting touch from the perimeter early on. Holy Family made its first two threes of the matchup to take a 10-7 lead at the halfway point of the opening quarter. The Huskies' adjustments proved critical, with the Tigers going 1-of-18 (5.6 percent) from behind the arc for the remainder of the game. 

Stevenson broke a four-minute scoring drought for Bloomsburg with her first deep-range make of the night to tie the game at 10-10 and pull the Huskies back in. After the Tigers regained the lead, Bloomsburg closed on a 7-0 run in the first behind Starr and Stevenson to hold a 17-12 advantage through one.

The Huskies ran with the momentum for an 8-2 stretch to begin the second quarter to grab a 25-17 edge, with Stevenson continuing to be a reliable perimeter option and solid work in the paint from sophomores Hatajik and L. Kale. The teams would again go on a points exchange through the final four minutes of the half, with Bloomsburg able to turn to Starr and Stevenson heading into the break.

Holy Family came out the aggressors to begin, finding spots in the paint and making tough layups through contact, and tied the game at 39-39 with under four minutes to play in the quarter. Needing a spark, the Huskies again leaned on their defensive principles, capitalizing on a quick outlet pass from Ella Kale (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) to Maddie LaFrance (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) to retake the lead. Kelly Leszcynski (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth) provided necessary energy off the bench in the final minute of the third, stepping out to knock down a three before pushing in transition to get to the free throw line with 0.1 seconds on the clock and send Bloomsburg into the fourth with a 45-40 advantage.

The fourth-quarter effort on the defensive end proved to be the deciding factor for the Huskies, holding the Tigers to just eight points on 4-of-20 (20 percent) shooting from the field in the final 10 minutes. Bloomsburg turned to the paint again, with Hatajik able to impose her will for four points through the first two minutes and build a seven-point edge. After a nearly two-minute scoreless stretch, Leszcynski pushed the pace again, dishing to Stevenson and nudging the lead further. 

Another long period without points, a stretch extending over three minutes, ended with E. Kale finding space with a pull-up jumper to give the Huskies their largest lead, 53-42. Bloomsburg walled off many attempts from Holy Family to claw back into the contest, with the Tigers breaking a five-plus minute scoring drought with just 2:41 to play in the contest. The last-ditch efforts from Holy Family proved ineffective as the Huskies found composure in their home-opener win.  

Numbers of Note: 
3/20 - Holy Family entered Tuesday as one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country. Taking over 44 percent of their attempts from behind the arc, the Tigers averaged nine made per contest (17th nationally) at a top-30 clip (36.7 percent). The Huskies' perimeter defense remained resolute, holding Holy Family to just three makes on 15 percent shooting.

27 - Bloomsburg held a noticeable advantage in the final box score with bench scoring. Led by Stevenson, the Huskies finished with a 27-9 edge. Along with Stevenson, LaFrance, Leszcynski, and Maddison Maynard (Lansford, Pa./Panther Valley) contributed an additional 13 points.

6 - Bloomsburg has gotten a fair percentage of its scoring this season from the foul line. The Huskies entered the midweek contest 11th in the country, averaging nearly 17.7 makes per game at 23.7 attempts per contest (23rd). Bloomsburg found different avenues to score, only getting to the line six times on Tuesday, while the sides combined for 13 attempts from the charity stripe.

48 - After giving up 104 points in an overtime shootout against Clarion, the Huskies found reassurance in their defense for a big win. By holding Holy Family to 48 on Tuesday, Bloomsburg has held three of its first seven opponents to under 50 points. The Huskies managed just two such performances in the last two seasons.

On The Horizon:
The Huskies travel to Upstate New York for an exhibition game against Niagara at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 1. Bloomsburg returns to Nelson Field House for its next conference game on Saturday, December 7, against Slippery Rock.