BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg women's basketball team opened its slate of games against Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division opposition Friday evening with a 55-48 victory over Mansfield at Nelson Field House. With the win, head coach Alison Tagliaferri picks up her 100th victory at the helm of the Bloomsburg women's basketball program.

The Mountaineers (5-7, 1-5 PSAC) found an early opening against the Huskies (7-5, 2-4 PSAC), managing a 13-4 advantage in the opening quarter. Bloomsburg closed the gap in the second off a 9-0 run and a 17-10 overall quarter to close the gap and enter halftime with a 27-25 advantage.

After finding a 44-38 advantage after 30 minutes played, both sides went cold in the first five minutes of the final quarter, with no points scored until Mansfield netted a pair of free throws at the 4:58 mark. The dynamic of the fourth played into the Huskies' favor, allowing them to fend off any comeback attempts from the Mountaineers to come away with the victory.

Leah Kale (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) led all scorers in the game with 17 points on 7-of-12 (58.3 percent) shooting from the field while knocking down a pair of threes. Katie Starr (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) finished the contest with nine points and nine rebounds. Despite battling foul trouble, the senior forward impacted the game on the defensive end, recording three steals and a block. Ella Kale (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) made her impact felt across every inch of the court. The senior guard totaled eight assists, five rebounds, a career-high three blocks and two steals to go with five points.

How It Happened: 
Friday's matchup took several minutes to flow, with neither side able to get on the scoreboard through the first three minutes of the game. Mansfield controlled the first major stretch of the contest, taking advantage of Bloomsburg's slow start to build an early nine-point edge. 

Needing a spark to get on track, the Huskies turned to the perimeter for answers. Lauren Kirsch (Palmyra, Pa./Lower Dauphin) got on the board with a triple at 2:07 to end a two-minute drought before E. Kale knocked down just her second three-pointer of the season to help cut the deficit to 15-10 through the first quarter. 

Bloomsburg flipped the switch in the second and continued to look to its guards to propel the offense. Maddie LaFrance (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) began the quarter with a three of her own to mark nine consecutive points from behind the arc. L. Kale then joined LaFrance for seven of the next nine points and a 22-20 lead for the Huskies. The offensive output, combined with a forced four-and-a-half-minute scoring drought for the Mountaineers, gave Bloomsburg new life in the contest.

After Mansfield retook the lead at 23-22, Ava Stevenson (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) swung momentum back in favor of the Huskies with an and-one layup before a floater from L. Kale helped Bloomsburg enter the break with a one-possession lead.

Defense on both sides continued to control the narrative, as the two teams combined for 10 points in the third quarter, nearing the halfway point. Kelly Leszcynski (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth) scored the first three of her eight third-quarter points from behind the arc for a 32-27 edge for the Huskies. As the Mountaineers looked to close the cap, Leszcynski found space in the lane to put up and drop a floater to ignite her team. LaFrance and L. Kale would again connect from behind the three-point line in back-to-back possessions to extend the lead to six. 

A final three from Leszcynski and a conversion from the charity stripe from Starr provided Bloomsburg with a 44-38 advantage heading into the fourth. Timely three-point shooting proved the difference, with the team shooting 4-of-7 from behind the arc to aid the offensive efforts. The third quarter also proved the best on the glass for Bloomsburg, outrebounding Mansfield 11-8 in those 10 minutes. 

With both sides stuck in a significant rut to open the fourth quarter, the teams turned to what had helped them to the point in the game. Mansfield got on the board with free throws before Bloomsburg sought L. Kale to guide the team down the final stretch. Kale rattled off two layups, including a three-point play, to provide a three-possession cushion with under four minutes remaining. 

As the Mountaineers knocked down one of their few deep makes of the game, the Huskies returned to L. Kale to remain on schedule. Near two minutes to play, Bloomsburg shifted its focus and was able to rely on its seniors to put away the game. E. Kale got the first crack with a pair of free throws. Starr followed suit, beating the buzzer off an inbound play with a mid-range jumper. Kirsch got in the final jab with her midrange make, beating a defender off the bounce and keeping the game out of reach. 

The Huskies' defense continues to be a shining presence for the team this season. Friday marked the third game this season with an opponent shooting under 30 percent from the floor, with Mansfield making only 26.4 percent of its attempts. That total matches the most in a season by Bloomsburg since the 2021-22 campaign. Freshman Lex Ferguson (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) is one of several players to contribute to the Huskies' relentless defensive effort, as the first-year forward blocked two shots for the second time in her young career while picking up a steal.

Numbers of Note: 
100 - Tagliaferri secured her 100th win as the head coach of Bloomsburg with Friday's win.

7 - The Huskies' seven blocked shots are the most in a game this season. The mark is also the most in a contest for Bloomsburg since the 2021-22 campaign.

50 - Defense continues to play an important role in the outcome of games for Bloomsburg. The Huskies are 5-0 in games this season when opponents score under 50 points while 2-5 in games over the threshold.

16/26/14 - The Huskies walked away with a win Friday evening, but it did not come easy. Mansfield proved engaged throughout the contest and caused issues all night for Bloomsburg. The visitors finished the game with advantages in points off turnovers (16-10), points in the paint (26-18) and second-chance points (14-3).

On The Horizon:
The Huskies will head on the road Monday, January 6, at 6:00 p.m. for the first PSAC East road contest of the season against Shippensburg.