SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg women's basketball team dropped its season opener in a 60-57 neutral-site decision against Shaw on Friday evening.
The Huskies (0-1) entered the fourth quarter leading by five, but the Lady Bears (2-0) began the final stretch with an 8-0 run to grab the lead for the third time in the contest, and managed to fend off any attempts from Bloomsburg to complete a comeback effort.
Lex Ferguson (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) led Bloomsburg in the game with a career-high 15 points, going 4-of-7 from the field and 7-of-9 from the foul line. The junior added seven rebounds, six of which were on the offensive glass.
Kelly Leszcynski (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth) and
Maddison Maynard (Lansford, Pa./Panther Valley) joined Ferguson in double figures, with Leszcynski recording 13 points with four three-pointers, four assists, and three steals, while Maynard finished with 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
How It Happened:
The Huskies started the night on the right foot with a run inside the first 90 seconds to take a 5-0 lead. Leszcynski netted her first triple of the night on the team's opening possession while Maynard scored her first basket in transition. Maynard's downhill presence gave Bloomsburg its largest lead of the quarter at eight following a five-point stretch from the junior. Shaw cut the lead down to four on a pair of occasions as the first quarter wound down, as a pair of free-throw makes by Ferguson sent the Huskies into the second quarter leading 17-11.
The second quarter began with the sides trading points before a 7-0 run down to three minutes remaining in the half saw Bloomsburg's lead climb to a game-high 10. The Lady Bears successfully countered the Huskies' hopes of pulling away in the final stretch of the first half, as Shaw outscored the Huskies, 10-4, in the final three minutes to make it a 30-26 scoreline at halftime.
The Lady Bears' second-half efforts changed the flow of the contest, and the initial signs showed to begin the second half. Shaw took its first lead of the night behind an 8-2 start to the third quarter. Bloomsburg eventually settled and rebuilt its advantage. With the Lady Bears leading 37-36, Leszcynski hit back-to-back threes to put the Huskies back up by five.
Carleigh Anderson (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Catholic) gave Bloomsburg one final bucket in the quarter to make it a 44-39 game in favor of the Huskies heading into the fourth.
Shaw again caught Bloomsburg on the back foot, taking advantage of lost possessions and opportunities at the free throw line to go on an 8-0 run and grab a 47-44 lead. Leszcynski once more cashed in from behind the arc ot tie the game at 47-47, but an immediate response from the Lady Bears' Janiya Johnson, who scored 12 of her game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter, kept the momentum in Shaw's favor. A flurry of missed opportunities by the Huskies led to six points in 38 seconds, as the Lady Bears forced a Bloomsburg timeout with 1:40 remaining and the score at 60-51. The Huskies did not back down in the face of adversity, with Ferguson netting five points down the line to help Bloomsburg make it a one-possession game. The Huskies got the stop they needed on the defensive end to set up one final shot, but Bloomsburg could not get off a quality look in the final five seconds to force overtime.
On the Horizon:
The Huskies continue their opening weekend of action on Saturday, November 14, at 4:00 p.m. against another CIAA foe in Fayetteville State.
