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Millersville

La'Shyra Williams

Marauders host Huskies looking for third straight win

| By: Wes Champlin, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant
  • Series vs. Bloomsburg: 45-46
  • Series Streak: W2
  • First Meeting: W, 47-27 (1971-72)
  • Last Meeting: W, 70-50 (Feb. 4, 2023)
  • Last 10 Meetings: 4-6
  • Most ‘Ville Points: 96
  • Record at Home: 25-18
  • Kira Mowen vs. Bloomsburg: 0-0
  • Alison Tagliaferri vs. Millersville: 8-4

 

ABOUT THE GAME

  • The Millersville Marauders (5-8, 3-4) host PSAC East rival Bloomsburg (4-10, 2-6) with a chance to return to the .500 mark in conference play. They are looking for their third straight victory after downing Shippensburg 63-52 on Jan. 10 while the Huskies are hoping to avoid a fourth straight loss after losing 58-63 to Mansfield the same evening. 
  • Millersville currently sits alone in fourth in the East with a 3-4 record, a half game behind Kutztown and West Chester. That pair is tied for second at 4-4. Bloomsburg is seventh in the division with a 2-6 mark, a half game behind East Stroudsburg for sixth place. 

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

  • Millersville enters looking to stay perfect in the new year after beating both Seton Hill and Shippensburg by 11 points. The win over Shippensburg was the team's first of the season following a victory.
  • The Marauders have begun to establish their offensive identity, which has been based around the pick and roll chemistry of their guards and bigs. Jabria Ingram was inserted into the starting lineup for the first time this season against Gannon on Dec. 30. Since then, the graduate student has averaged 7.3 assists over three games including a career-high 13 against Seton Hill. She's also reached double digits each of the past two contests while shooting an outstanding 77.8% from the floor.
  • La'Shyra Williams has also been a beneficiary of Ingram's play, setting season-bests in scoring in each of the past two contests. She broke out against the Griffins, pouring in a then season-high 19 points on nine of 13 from the floor. The redshirt senior then one-upped herself against the Raiders, netting a career-high 22 on nine of 10 shooting and a perfect four of four from the free-throw line. Williams has also made her mark defensively this season, as she's second on the 'Ville in both steals and blocks.
  • Makiah Shaw has been the team's leading scorer all year (11.7 PPG) and is one of two Marauders to start every game (Brenna Ortwein being the other). Despite a recent lull in scoring, Shaw made her mark against the Raiders. She finished a point and a rebound short of the Marauders' second double double of the 2023-24 campaign.
  • Ortwein and Sophie Elstone round out the Marauder starting five. Ortwein has been the poster child of Millersville's tenacious defensive play so far this season. She's tops on the team in steals and top 20 in the PSAC in total steals and steals per game. The junior's also pulled down seven or more rebounds in each of the last four games. After missing her first six three point attempts of the season, Elstone has raised her three-point percentage to 44.4%, which would be tops in the conference if she met the attempt requirements.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES

  • Bloomsburg enters hoping to avoid losing a fourth-straight game for the second time this season. The Huskies have been scuffling mightily over the past calendar month. Since taking down No. 6 Jefferson on Dec. 9, they have lost five of six. Their one win in this span was over Seton Hill on Dec. 30. 
  • The Huskies are led offensively by a pair of double-figure scorers: Katie Starr and Maddie LaFrance. Starr has nearly doubled her points per game output from last season (10.4 to 20.4) and sits atop the entire PSAC in that category. She's also doing so efficiently, as she's also tops in the conference in field goal percentage at 56.7%. The junior forward contributes mightily on the defensive end as well, evidenced by her team-leading marks in rebounding (9.1), and steals and blocks per game (1.8 and 0.8, respectively). 
  • LaFrance, the other half of that pair, averages 10.8 points per contest. She's been a threat from outside all season, averaging over six three-point attempts per game and shooting 30.9% on them. The native of Harrisburg, Pa. ranks eleventh in the PSAC in three-point percentage and eighth in threes made.  
  •  The Huskies feature another conference leader in Ella Kale. The junior guard is first in the PSAC with 5.1 assists per game and is the only player to top the five assist mark. She rarely leaves the court and is tops on Bloomsburg with 35.6 minutes per game, good for fourth in the conference.
  • They posess a middle-of-the-pack offense at 65.1 points per game, but the defense is where the Huskies are lacking. They're third-to-last in opponent points per game at 73.2 and in the bottom four in blocks and steals per game. A contributing factor to that opponent points per contest ranking is the fact that they're last in both opponent field goal percentage (45.4%) and three-point percentage (35.7). 

SERIES HISTORY

  • Millersville will have a unique opportunity to even the score all-time against the Huskies with a win, as the rivalry currently sits at 45-46 in favor of Bloomsburg. It has been a tale of long streaks for both programs at different times over the more than 50 years of competition. The Marauders won nine in a row from 1980-1985 before the Huskies answered right back by going 18-2 over the next 20 matchups. In the 2000's, Millersville held a clear upper hand, winning 18 of 22 contests including a 16-2 span from 2002 to 2009. 
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