BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg women's basketball team defeated the Shepherd Rams 70-53 to advance to the second round of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament. 

The Huskies were dominant defensively, forcing the Rams to shoot 31.3% (21-for-67) from the field while not allowing them to lead the game once. They also made Shepherd turn the ball over 15 times and outrebounded the Rams by 15, snatching 51 boards. 

The trio of Kelly Leszcynski (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth), Ava Stevenson (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) and Maddison Maynard (Lansford, Pa./Panther Valley) combined for 51 points in the game. Leszcynski led both teams in points and assists with 19 and seven respectively. Stevenson had 17 points, draining three shots from beyond the arc. Maynard also scored 17 and led both teams in rebounds with nine, one board shy of a double-double. Alison Hatajik (Duncansville, Pa./Hollidaysburg) added four points while collecting five rebounds. Maddie LaFrance (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) had two points and led both teams in steals with three.

Lex Ferguson (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) played meaningful minutes off of the bench, scoring nine points and retrieving seven rebounds. Olivia Selverian (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) also played well with two points and a steal. 

First Half: 

Maynard scored the first bucket of the game with a layup after collecting her own miss. Shepherd struck back with a jumper of their own to make it a tie game again. The Huskies made two straight buckets with Stevenson hitting a three and Leszcynski making a jumper, forcing the Rams to burn a timeout early. The Rams came out of the timeout with a layup that was quickly combated by Stevenson who hit a jumper. Both teams went back and forth in the last minutes of the first quarter with Hatajik earning the final bucket. The first ended with Bloomsburg up 17-13.

Leszcynski brought the lead up to six after another mid-range shot to start the second. This would open a 9-2 run for the Huskies, putting the lead into double digits. Shepherd ended the run by hitting two straight buckets to make the lead 26-19 with 4 minutes left in the half. Bloomsburg retaliated with two buckets of their own from Selverian and LaFrance. The first half ended with Bloomsburg up 32-23. 

Second Half:

Maynard opened the second half with a layup after a Rams turnover. Shepherd hit back with a layup of their own, but, after some time, Ferguson brought it back to an 11-point lead. After a layup from Shepherd, Stevenson drained a shot from deep to make it 39-27 with just under seven minutes left in the third. Shepherd did bring the lead back down to seven at one point, but this would be the closest the lead would be in the second half. The third quarter ended with Ferguson hitting a buzzer-beating layup assisted by Leah Kale (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove). The quarter ended 54-40

Hatajik hit a jumper in the Huskies' first possession of the fourth to put them up 56-40. Shepherd tried to go on a run, but were overwhelmed by the Huskies' defense and could not get the lead under double digits. With under two minutes left in the game, both teams emptied their benches and the game was sealed. 

On the Horizon:

Bloomsburg will travel to Erie to face the #1 seed in the west, Gannon University, on March 4. Tip off will be at 5:30 p.m.