MANSFIELD, Pa. - The Bloomsburg women's basketball team toppled the Mountaineers 61-49 in a hard-fought victory.
The team was led by
Kelly Leszcynski (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth) who scored 19 points and collected five rebounds.
Maddison Maynard (Lansford, Pa./Panther Valley) led the team in rebounds with seven while scoring eight points.
Alison Hatajik (Duncansville, Pa./Hollidaysburg) was second in scoring with 13 points while
Lex Ferguson (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) scored two.
From the bench,
Ava Stevenson (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) led the way with 10 points,
Maddie LaFrance (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) scored eight and
Sophia Shults (Hazleton, Pa./Hazleton Area) had one.
First Half:
Leszcynski started the scoring for the Huskies with a good three-pointer. With scoring from LaFrance and Stevenson, the Huskies took a 7-2 lead with just over five minutes in the first. Mansfield battled back with a three-pointer to make the lead down to three. Stevenson ended the quarter with a good shot from beyond the arc to make the lead 13-7.
Mansfield and Bloomsburg traded back-to-back three pointers to start the second 16-10. After a score from Leszcynski, Mansfield scored six straight buckets to drop the lead 18-16 in the Huskies' favor. Shults, Stevenson and Hatajik then brought the lead up to 23-18 with a little over three minutes left. Hatajik went on to score two straight buckets along with a floater from Leszcynski to make it a 29-20 game with 14 seconds left in the half. The Mountaineers then hit a buzzer-beating layup to end the second 29-22.
Second Half:
The Huskies went cold to start the second half with the Mountaineers going on a 11-3 run to take the lead. Leszcynski ended the drought with a jumper assisted by Stevenson. Both teams shared free throws that would make it 36-35 in the Huskies' favor, but Mansfield hit a three to retake the lead. Mansfield kept the lead by making it 41-38 with just under four minutes left, but Hatajik made a jumper plus the foul to tie the game 41-41. Maynard and Leszcynski took back the lead to end the third with a three and a layup respectively.
Maynard hit a pair of layups to make the lead 52-43 with 6:46 left in regulation. LaFrance also hit back-to-back shots to put the lead in double digits. After some scoring from Mansfield, Leszcynski slammed the door shot after a clutch and-1 to end the game.
On the Horizon:
The Huskies will return to the Nelson Field House to play Millersville on Feb. 21. Tip off will be at 1 p.m.