BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg women's basketball team raced away with a 73-51 win over Millersville at Nelson Field House Wednesday evening.
Leading by six at the half, the Huskies (9-5, 4-4 PSAC) pieced together their two best defensive quarters of the contest to shut down the efforts of the visiting Marauders (9-5, 4-3 PSAC). Through the final 20 minutes of the night, Bloomsburg outscored Millersville 36-20, including holding the visitors to seven points in the game's final 10 minutes.
The Huskies received a complete team effort on Wednesday, with four players finishing in double figures and five recording nine or more points. Kelly Leszcynski (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth) led the charge for Bloomsburg, finishing with a season-high 16 points while tacking on four assists, three rebounds, and a career-best three steals. The redshirt sophomore guard ended the day 3-for-5 (60 percent) behind the arc and 5-of-6 (83.3 percent) from the free throw line.
Alison Hatajik (Duncansville, Pa./Hollidaysburg) (12), Maddie LaFrance (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) (11), and Katie Starr (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) (11) joined Leszcynski with double-digit points. Hatajik added five rebounds and a steal after coming up one point shy of matching a career-high. LaFrance had her best offensive performance of the season, rattling off 11 points while going 3-for-4 (75 percent) from behind the arc. Starr chipped in a team-high seven rebounds with two assists while securing two steals and a block on the defensive end.
In addition, the Huskies got great contributions from their guard rotation in the shooting department. Ella Kale (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) (9 points), Lauren Kirsch (Palmyra, Pa./Lower Dauphin) (6), Ava Stevenson (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) (5), and Maddison Maynard (Lansford, Pa./Panther Valley) (3) all knocked down at least one deep-range look to help Bloomsburg's efforts.
How It Happened:
Gearing up to be a gritty game against two of the best defenses in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), Wednesday's contest got off to a fast-paced start. Entering the matchup, Millersville surrendered a PSAC East-low 55.5 points per contest on a PSAC-best opponent field goal percentage of 31.6. The Huskies trailed not far behind, giving up an average of 60.3 points per game while holding teams to 36.6 percent shooting.
Bloomsburg looked to bounce back from a lowly shooting night on Monday, finding Starr inside on the first possession before Starr dished out an assist to Kirsch on the perimeter for the first three of the game and a 5-0 run inside the first minute and a half. The Marauders quickly closed the gap, leading to a series of ties and lead changes between the two sides. Leszczynski came down on the offensive end following a steal by Lex Ferguson (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) to line up her first points of the game off a find from Stevenson. Millersville would answer with a two on its final possession to make it a 17-16 lead for the Huskies after one quarter. Both teams effectively countered the defensive tactics of their opposition, shooting above 40 percent quarter with a pair of triples.
The second quarter flashed the potent potential of the Bloomsburg offense, but not before the Marauders leaked out to a 23-20 advantage three minutes into the second quarter. LaFrance made the initial tying effort with her first three of the game before Stevenson caught a pass from Kirsch for another tying three at 23-23. After Millersville responded with its own long-range make, Maynard stepped into her lone shot of the contest and buried a three off a freshman-to-freshman connection from Kalleigh Nerone (Pittsburgh, Pa./Highlands).
With the two teams continuing to trade baskets, LaFrance stepped up in the final 80 seconds of the half to provide her side with a cushion. The guard first converted from behind the line for a four-point edge before skipping a pass off to Kale to give the Huskies a 37-31 lead after 20 minutes. Bloomsburg's second quarter was propelled by efficient scoring, with the team going 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) from the floor and knocking down 4-of-6 (66.7 percent) from behind the arc to spur a 5-0 run entering the break.
The Huskies came out of halftime with a point to prove and did so by replicating their second-quarter shooting performance, outpacing the Marauders, 21-13, and building up a 14-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Bloomsburg swung 10 points through the two minutes going into and out of the half to see a double-digit lead for the first time on Wednesday. The Huskies looked inside to Hatajik for the first points of the half before turning back to the perimeter and an open Leszczynski for a 42-31 advantage and an early Millersville timeout. The Bloomsburg defense took a turn leading the charge in the third quarter, locking in an 8-0 run that featured another two threes between Kirsch and LaFrance to extend the edge to 15 points.
Leszcynski closed out the third quarter in style for the Huskies despite the best efforts from the visitors. The guard recorded five points in the final 66 seconds of the quarter, stepping out for her second three of the 10-minute period before weaving through a sea of bodies to drop in a pull-up jump shot and cap off the third with eight points.
The fourth quarter ultimately sealed the for Bloomsburg, putting its best defensive foot forward to extinguish any hopes for the Marauders. The Huskies' lead reached 20 for the first time on the night as Leszcynski scooped a pass to Kale on a broken play to allow the senior guard to beat the buzzer and give her team a 66-46 lead. Millersville would go without a field goal for a nearly four-minute stretch in the final quarter before a pair of technical fouls sent Leszcynski to the foul line for four points and possession. Bloomsburg sealed the game as part of a seven-point swing, with Leszcynski finding Starr with time and space for the senior's first three of the season and walking away with an emphatic victory.
Kale's presence for the Huskies continues to show up across the box score, with another notable performance from the senior. The Bloomsburg point guard wrapped up the game with six rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block to go with her scoring efforts. Getting the starting nod, Kirsch provided solid secondary playmaking ability, matching her season-best three assists. In total, five players for the Huskies finished with multiple assists and nine players registered at least one.
Numbers of Note:
57.1 - After a forgettable performance in the previous outing against Millersville, Bloomsburg responded as a team with a season-best 12 three-pointers made on 57.1 percent shooting from behind the arc. The 12 makes are the most since the 2022-23 season, and the percentage is the best with at least 20 attempts since the 2011-12 campaign. In total, seven players finished with a deep-range basket for the Huskies.
17 - While many positives exist from Wednesday, one notable problem area was the Huskies giving up points off turnovers. From Bloomsburg's 16 turnovers in the contest, Millersville scored 17 of its 51 points.
20 - For the third time this season, the Huskies finished a game with at least 20 assists as a team. That figure marks the most for Bloomsburg women's basketball since the 2015-2016 season.
On The Horizon:
The Huskies are back at Nelson Field House on Saturday, January 11, at 1:00 p.m., to face Penn State-Schuylkill.
