kBLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg women's lacrosse team used a dominant first half and balanced scoring attack to roll past Shepherd, 18-6, in PSAC East action Saturday afternoon at Steph Pettit Stadium.

Shepherd struck first when Rebekah Forney scored just 32 seconds into the contest to give the Rams a 1–0 lead. Bloomsburg quickly responded as Samantha Keck (Denver, Pa./Cocalico) tied the game at 11:08 of the first quarter off a feed from Alexis Guzylak (Corning, N.Y./Horseheads). Shepherd briefly regained the advantage on a man-up goal by Grace Lyon, but the Huskies answered with a decisive scoring run that swung momentum firmly in their favor.

Brianna Austin (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) sparked the surge with an unassisted goal before Guzylak gave Bloomsburg its first lead moments later. Kayla Stressman (Harleysville, Pa./North Penn) converted off another Guzylak assist to extend the margin with her first goal of the season, and Reiley Knize (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton) added a goal to continue the Huskies' push. Keck scored her second of the quarter off a pass from Stressman, and Madison McNamee (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) capped the seven-goal opening frame with her first goal of the season to send Bloomsburg into the second quarter with a commanding 7-2 lead.

The Huskies continued to build the lead early in the second period behind Marykate Sitko (Pennsburg, Pa./Upper Perkiomen). Sitko scored on a free-position opportunity before adding another goal just 38 seconds later off an assist from Austin. Knize followed with a free-position tally, and Delaney Fox (Barto, Pa./Boyertown) finished a transition opportunity from Emily Gauker (Mohnton, Pa./Governor Mifflin) as Bloomsburg stretched the lead to 11–2.

Shepherd managed to slow the run briefly with a goal from Aubrey Harrison, but Sitko answered again with another free-position finish. After Grace Meyer scored for the Rams, Molly Clifford (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) closed the half with her first goal of the season, giving the Huskies a 13–4 advantage at the break.

Bloomsburg maintained control coming out of halftime. Fox opened the third quarter with a man-up goal off an Austin assist before Shepherd's Hadley Robertson answered on the other end. Sitko then took over again, scoring to push the lead back to double digits. Emily Simpson (North Wales, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) added a goal off a feed from Keck, and Sitko struck once more midway through the period to reach five goals on the afternoon. Stressman finished the third-quarter scoring with a goal from Clifford as the Huskies built an 18–5 lead heading into the final period.

The fourth quarter featured strong defensive play from Bloomsburg as the Huskies held Shepherd scoreless for much of the frame. The Rams added a late man-down goal by Meyer, but the outcome had long been decided as Bloomsburg secured the 18–6 victory.

Sitko led the Huskies with five goals, and her fifth tally of the afternoon marked the 100th career point of her Bloomsburg career. Austin added a goal and three assists, while Fox, Keck, Knize, and Stressman each scored twice in the balanced offensive effort. Both Clifford and McNamee scored their first collegiate goals.

Bloomsburg finished with a 36–26 advantage in shots and received nine saves from goalkeeper Emily Graham (Wantagh, N.Y./St. Anthony's) in the win.

The Huskies move to 2–4 overall and 1–1 in PSAC East play with the victory while Shepherd falls to 1-4 on the season and opens conference play 0-1. 

Bloomsburg hits the road on Wednesday when the Huskies travel to East Stroudsburg, Pa. to face the Warriors in PSAC East play. The opening draw is set for 3:00 p.m.