ERIE, Pa. - The Bloomsburg women's basketball team's season came to a close after dropping bout to Gannon 66-56 in the PSAC Quarterfinals. The Huskies' record on the season ends at 16-13 (11-10 PSAC) while going 1-1 in the PSAC Tournament.
The back-and-forth game featured nine lead changes and six ties.
Ava Stevenson (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) led the way for the Huskies in points, scoring 16 with four 3-pointers. Maynard was right behind, scoring 14 points.
Kelly Leszcynski (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth) and
Maddie LaFrance (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) both scored eight, and
Alison Hatajik (Duncansville, Pa./Hollidaysburg) rounded out the starters with two points.
From the bench,
Leah Kale (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) scored five points and Lex Ferugson had three.
First Half:
To start the first, the Huskies came to play after a steal from Stevenson. She hit a quick three, assisted by Leszcynski, giving Bloomsburg a 3-0 lead. Gannon fired back with a quick layup and a three of their own to take the lead for the first time. Maynard combated that with a layup in the paint. The Huskies and Golden Knights went back and forth in the quarter until Gannon put lead up to five points. After a free throw from Maynard, Gannon hit another one from inside the paint. Kale ended the first with a jumper from inside to make it 15-11.
Stevenson continued her great shooting by making a three to cut the lead to 15-14. Gannon fought back with a fast break jumper, but the lead was quickly brought back to one when Stevenson hit another shot. Leszcynski gave the Huskies the lead back after draining two shots from the charity stripe. It would not last long after a Gannon three ball. Kale hit the last shot of the quarter with a layup to end the half 22-20 in Gannon's favor.
Second Half:
Maynard tied the game back up with a jumper that was stopped after the Golden Knights took the lead back with another layup. They'd score another bucket, but Stevenson kept the Huskies in it with a layup. Gannon hit another layup to put the lead to four, but it was quickly thwarted by Stevenson who hit another shot from beyond the arc. Hatajik took the lead for the Huskies with a layup of her own. Leszcynski bolstered that lead to 32-28 after a three assisted by Stevenson. The Golden Knights then got an and-1 to make it 32-31 with 3:48 left in the third. Ferguson hit a free throw to put them up by two, but The Golden Knights snatched back the lead with a shot from deep. LaFrance then drained two free throws to put the Huskies back on top. The Golden Knights regained the lead with a score of 38-35 with just over two minutes left. Maynard scored three straight buckets to end the third tied 41-41.
In the fourth, Bloomsburg struggled as Gannon went on an 11-1 run, making it 52-42 with 6:05 remaining. Maynard hit a shot from deep to stop the run and made it 52-45. Gannon fired back with a layup that was quickly combated by Ferguson who made her own layup after an offensive rebound. The Golden Knights kept up the pressure by making the lead 60-49 with just under two minutes left in the game. Stevenson and LaFrance did bring the lead down to six with 1:14 left in the game, but the Golden Knights did not miss a single free throw, ending the game 66-56.
Graduating Seniors:
Redshirt senior LaFrance completes her Bloomsburg career with 653 points, 50 assists, 216 rebounds and 53 steals.
Fifth-year senior Stevenson finishes her Bloomsburg tenure with 595 points, 150 assists, 183 rebounds and 50 steals.
