BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg women's basketball team fended off Shippensburg Monday evening to come away with a 60-51 win in its second PSAC East contest of the season.

After a quick 20-2 start in the game, the Huskies (8-5, 3-4 PSAC) managed the game well to lead wire to wire for 39:22 of game time. Despite leading by as much as 18 in the first quarter and a game-high 19 in the third quarter, the Raiders (5-8, 2-5 PSAC) fought valiantly to cut the lead to as little as six points with under a minute to play. However, Bloomsburg learned its lesson from earlier contests in the season to take care of the basketball and play solid defense to come away with a critical road victory.

Katie Starr (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) led all players Monday with 25 points and 12 rebounds for the forward's fourth double-double and third in the last four contests. The senior added two assists, two steals, and a block to her totals. Ella Kale (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) and Ava Stevenson (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) each tallied eight points on the night, with Kale tacking on four rebounds, three assists, a block, and a steal to her stat line. Kelly Leszcynski (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth) and Alison Hatajik (Duncansville, Pa./Hollidaysburg) rounded out the top scorers for Bloomsburg with six points each. Leszcynski tallied all six of her points in the fourth quarter, including the Huskies' lone three-pointer. Hatajik scored six points on 3-of-3 shooting while grabbing seven boards and blocking one shot.

How It Happened: 
After slow starts to several games this season, the Huskies left nothing to the imagination and found a rhythm early on both ends of the court. Offensively, Bloomsburg attacked the rim with its first 10 points to open with a 10-0 run through the first three minutes of action. After a midrange jumper from Kale, Shippensburg scored its first points of the contest with 5:28 to play in the first to make it a 12-2 contest. 

The Huskies' relentless pressure on the rim continued to pay off with Starr and Stevenson trading four points apiece to grab a 20-2 edge with just over two minutes to play in the opening quarter. The Raiders managed to avoid further disaster in the quarter, closing on an 8-0 run through the final two minutes of the quarter to make it a 20-10 game after one. Through the opening quarter, Bloomsburg held Shippensburg to 4-of-16 (25 percent) shooting from the floor with three blocks as a defense.

The pace of the contest slowed down, allowing the host Raiders to claw back into the contest. Shippensburg took its 8-0 run from the first quarter and carried it into a 10-0 run over three minutes into the second. The Raiders adjusted to the Huskies' early offensive efforts and forced several long jump shots. As a team, Bloomsburg finished 0-for-9 from behind the arc in the first half while shooting from 13-for-26 (50 percent) from two-point range. The cold spell resulted in a five-and-a-half-minute stretch of game time without any points. 

Starr broke the Huskies' dry spell from the free throw line to reach double-digit points in the game, spurring Maddie LaFrance (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) and E. Kale to place with pace to complete a quick 6-0 run for a 24-12 edge and Shippensburg timeout. As the Raiders cut their deficit back under double digits, the two teams began to trade points in the half's closing moments. The two teams combined for seven points in the final 50 seconds, with Leah Kale (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) beating the buzzer on a layup attempt for a 32-21 lead after 20 minutes played.

Bloomsburg returned to what worked through the first half and looked to establish a presence in the paint. Despite being unable to get a field goal drop for nearly four minutes to start the second half, the Huskies scored their first five points from the charity stripe to make it 37-25 before finding Starr again for a clean look inside and reestablish the offense. 

Starr and Stevenson carried the offensive production through the third quarter, with tandem accounting for 14 of the team's 16 points in the third quarter, outscoring Shippensburg 14-13. The defensive pressure from Bloomsburg picked up in the third, with the Huskies holding the Raiders to under 40 percent shooting in a quarter for the second time in the game. 

Shippensburg continued to make attempts at the Huskies' lead and cut it below double figures. Bloomsburg found responses through most of the final quarter to Shippensburg's rallying efforts. After the Raiders cut their deficit to nine with five minutes to play, Leszcynski came down on the next offensive possession for the Huskies and returned the advantage to 12 points. Shippensburg's efforts were not deterred, with the dwindling clock as a 6-0 run with under three minutes to play made it 55-49 entering the final minute.

As the Raiders' comeback chances were reliant on miscues from the Huskies, Bloomsburg as a team hunkered down in the closing moments to keep Shippensburg at bay. The Huskies held the Raiders to two points in the final 50 seconds while getting five from the foul line to close the contest.

Numbers of Note: 
1-16 - The Huskies managed a win Monday evening despite one of its lesser shooting performances of the season. As a team, Bloomsburg shot 35.7 percent from the field, its third-lowest mark of the season, while shooting 1-of-16 (6.3 percent) from behind the arc. It is the only game this season Bloomsburg has not recorded multiple three-pointers made.

13-8 / 41-32 - Bloomsburg pieced together one of its better rebounding performances of the season in Monday's win. The Huskies finished with a +9 differential on the glass for the fourth time this season, and the third PSAC game finished at least +8. Bloomsburg is 2-1 in those games. Despite a 13-8 advantage in offensive rebounding, the Huskies trailed in second chance points, 17-8.

26 - Bloomsburg finished with the edge in free throw attempts for only the fourth time this season with a 26-16 advantage against Shippensburg. The Huskies are 3-1 in such contests this season.

On The Horizon:
The Huskies return to Nelson Field House Wednesday, January 8, at 7:30 p.m. following a short rest to take on current PSAC East No. 1 Millersville.