Millersville, Pa. - Led by another strong offensive performance from Lauren Lister, the Millersville University women's basketball team upset first-place Bloomsburg on Saturday afternoon in Pucillo Gymnasium by a score of 63-58. The Marauders have now won five of their last six games and remain tied for fourth place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East standings.

Millersville (11-13, 8-9 PSAC) is now 4-1 in its last five home games, while the Huskies (17-8, 12-5 PSAC) are now 4-8 on the road this season.

Bloomsburg only trailed by three with less than 1:30 remaining on the clock. Marissa Molnar notched a steal for the Huskies and looked poised to cut the deficit to one, but Kennedy Middleton was at the rim to stop her and Lister ran across the court to grab the defensive rebound. The Marauders went 5-for-6 from the charity stripe the rest of the way and Lister tallied two huge layups to give Millersville the win.

"I'm really proud of the way our team battled through the game, but more specifically the fourth quarter," head coach Mary Fleig said. "They came up with some big defensive stops and some big rebounds."

Coming off a historic 38-point performance, Lister played all 40 minutes and scored a game-high 29 points, shot 64.7 percent (11-for-17), grabbed five rebounds and recorded a game-high three steals.

"She's our go-to scorer," Fleig said. "Teams are keying in on her and trying to stop her, but a lot of the time they can't."

Olivia Mottern also had a strong showing on offense, scoring 16 points to go with a 46.2 shooting percentage (6-for-13). Courtney Dimoff helped the Marauders outrebound the Huskies 37-36 with a career-high 12 boards.

Bloomsburg began the game on a 7-0 run, but the Marauders outscored the Huskies 14-9 the rest of the period. Millersville then began the second period on a 9-0 run and didn't let Bloomsburg score until the 6:17 mark.  The Marauders led just 29-28 at halftime, but entered the game 7-1 when leading at the half this season. However, their lone loss came at Bloomsburg earlier this season.

The lead changed six times in the third quarter and neither team led by more than four until a 10-6 run by Millersville to start the fourth quarter gave it some breathing room. 

"When we went on a run in the fourth quarter I could tell that we were wearing them down," Fleig said. "That's what turned the fourth quarter around."

The Marauders were able to shut down the Huskies' top two scorers, Emma Saxton and Taylor Montana, who combined for just 12 points. Saxton scored a career-high 30 points in Bloomsburg's win over Millersville earlier this season.

"We let Emma Saxton catch the ball at Bloomsburg, but we were not going to let her do the same thing today," Fleig said. "We adjusted well to their shooters, especially in the second half. They did a lot of ball fakes and kept driving on us so we had to control our close outs, and we did just that."

The Marauder bench contributed just five points on offense, but they came in key situations. A jumper by Middleton at the end of the third quarter took the lead away from the Huskies for good, while a jumper from Chandera Jones-Aryeh extended the lead to five halfway through the fourth quarter.

"Some key players came in and contributed key minutes," Fleig said. "It was a total team effort today."

ADDITIONAL QUOTES
• "We've been getting better every day. We know that anyone can beat anyone in the east, the division is up for grabs. Having three of our last four at home really helps. There is no place like home."

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Bloomsburg didn't attempt any free throws in the first half and only attempted four in the entire game.
• Millersville (48 percent) had a significantly higher shooting percentage than the Huskies (35.3 percent).
• The Marauders turned the ball over 18 times compared to Bloomsburg's 13 turnovers, but held a 15-12 edge in points off turnovers. 
• The Huskies scored 52 points in paint in the game at Bloomsburg earlier this season, but totaled just 34 from close range today. Millersville wasn't far behind with 30 in the paint.

NOTES
• The Marauders retake the lead in the all-time series against the Huskies, 43-42.
• Bloomsburg had won eight of its last nine entering today's game and was on a two-game win streak against Millersville.

UP NEXT
• The Marauders will stay home and host Kutztown on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 5:30 p.m. in Pucillo Gymnasium. The Golden Bears are now tied with the Huskies for first place in the PSAC East. 
 

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