FROSTBURG, Md. - The Bloomsburg women's basketball team finished off a strong opening weekend at the Jim Crawley Conference Challenge with a 69-63 win over Frostburg State on Saturday afternoon. 

After trailing in the first quarter, the Huskies (2-0) scored 43 points in the second and third quarters to take a 13-point lead into the fourth. Despite the best efforts from the Bobcats (1-1) to rally, Bloomsburg fended off the hosts to come out on top.

Alison Hatajik (Duncansville, Pa./Hollidaysburg) led all scorers on Saturday with a new career-high 24 points. The junior shot 11-of-18 (.611) from the floor and added nine rebounds, two assists, and a block. Ava Stevenson (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) had a solid second game of the campaign, finishing second on the team with 13 points while knocking down three three-pointers, grabbing five boards, and dishing out four assists. Kelly Leszcynski (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth) also reached double figures at 10 points and picked up six assists and four rebounds.

How It Happened:
Saturday's contest started with a feeling-out process, as both teams managed just four points through the first five minutes of action. Frostburg would then go on a quick 10-3 run led by five points, an assist, and a steal from Sophie Nichols, to pull out to a 14-7 advantage with under two minutes remaining in the quarter. 

Hatajik was the lone bright spot on the offensive end in the beginning for the Huskies, netting eight of the team's first nine points in the game. Bloomsburg managed to make it a one-possession game nearing the final minute before a pair of quick baskets by the Bobcats saw the lead go back up to eight. Taking advantage of the time on the clock, Bloomsburg worked down its final possession of the quarter to find its best possible shot. The Huskies would get just that, as Leah Kale (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) found Stevenson for a three-pointer to beat the buzzer and cut the lead to five heading into the second.

Bloomsburg got off to a much better start in the second quarter, erasing the first quarter deficit for the team's first lead since the opening stages of the game. Stevenson got the scoring started in the second, just as she had ended it in the first with a three to cut Frostburg's lead to two. Another two from Hatajik and a quick outlet into a transition three saw the Huskies go up 22-21 with 7:55 remaining in the first half. 

The quarter would go back and forth for an extended period of time, as the two teams traded baskets. Bloomsburg's efforts offensively continued to be predicated on the performances of Stevenson and Hatajik, with the duo combining for 10 consecutive points before four straight points from Maddison Maynard (Lansford, Pa./Panther Valley) saw the Huskies get back on top, 36-34. Each team would get one final bucket in the final two minutes, but that would be all, as Bloomsburg entered the break up 38-36.

The third quarter would continue the Huskies' excellent offensive form while clamping down on the defensive end in the latter stages. The give-and-take from both teams continued into the start of the second half. Hatajik and Leszcynski would help Bloomsburg maintain a lead that dropped to one point in the third. The eight points the Bobcats scored in the first four minutes of the quarter proved to be all they would net, as the Huskies kept Frostburg off the scoreboard for the final 5:46 of the third. 

That excellent defensive run gave credence to a 12-0 run for Bloomsburg. Kale started things off with a pair of driving layups in the paint before the offense took a step along the perimeter with Maddie LaFrance (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin). The redshirt senior would knock down back-to-back triples on the Huskies' next two possessions to push the advantage to 11. A final basket from Hatajik saw Bloomsburg take a 57-44 lead heading into the fourth.

The Huskies' built-up advantage would prove vital in the final stretch, as Bloomsburg struggled to create the same looks it had found for most of the afternoon in the fourth quarter. Maynard got things off on the right foot for the Huskies on the offensive glass with a putback layup to see the lead reach a game-high 15 points. That edge would not last long, as an 8-0 stretch with under four minutes to play in the contest made it a 59-52 game. Leszcynski and Hatajik would cut that run off in time to push the lead back into double digits.

With less than a minute to play and Frostburg extending pressure up the entire length of the court, Saturday's contest came down to Bloomsburg's ability to seal the deal at the free-throw line. Stevenson was up first for the Huskies, knocking down one of two attempts, as the Bobcats would go down their end of the court and sink a pair to make it a five-point game with under 30 seconds remaining.

Just as she did in the opener, Leszcynski would prove pivotal down the stretch, as the guard went to the line three times. The redshirt junior did what she needed to, going six-of-six when it mattered most to keep Bloomsburg in front and pick up the win. 

Numbers of Note: 
43-25 - The difference for the Huskies on Saturday was the team's play in the middle 20 minutes. Bloomsburg finished the day with a 43-25 advantage against the Bobcats in the second and third quarters, compared to a 38-26 split in favor of Frostburg in the first and fourth quarters.

13 - Entering the weekend, Hatajik had scored in double figures nine times in her career without exceeding 13 points in a game. In the first two games of her junior campaign, the Duncansville, Pa. native has surpassed that total twice, including her first career 20-point performance.

17-6 - A key piece of the Huskies' defensive efforts this year has been a focus on stopping other teams from comfortably moving the ball. Bloomsburg finished with a double-digit advantage in assists for the second game in a row, a 17-6 edge over the Bobcats. Through the first two games, the Huskies have recorded 38 assists to their opponents' 14.

On the Horizon:
The Huskies host their home opener at Nelson Field House against Georgian Court on Wednesday, November 15, at 5:30 p.m.