Millersville University
10-8,6-6PSAC
Bloomsburg
10-8,6-6PSAC
Ranieli ices game with 11 fourth-quarter points in win over Bloomsburg
1/24/2026 3:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MILLERSVILLE, Pa. — Millersville women's basketball (10-8, 6-6 PSAC) leveraged a massive win in a tight down-to-the-wire thriller against Bloomsburg (10-8, 6-5 PSAC) on Saturday afternoon at home. The win came courtesy of 11 fourth-quarter points from standout freshman guard Daniella Ranieli, and two other Marauders that had double-digit scoring, Carley Berk (13) and Bryn Zentner (12).
Millersville came out of the gates hot, jumping out to an early 11-2 lead courtesy of crucial buckets from Kelly Cleaver, who opened the scoring, and Jillian Crawford, who drilled an early three-pointer to get the Marauders going. The balanced effort by the Marauders, who forced five first-quarter turnovers, allowed them to capitalize on inflated offensive opportunities.The Huskies struggled considerably in the first quarter, shooting 25.0% from the field and not connecting on any of their four threes taken in the opening stanza.
The Huskies' shooting struggles continued for the remainder of the game. Still, the Marauders matched it with poor efficiencies of their own, keeping the game close throughout, with their largest lead being 12 points, a game in which they never trailed Bloomsburg.
Needing a comeback, Bloomsburg hopped into a full-court press in the fourth quarter that found success against a Marauders team that struggled to break it, forcing five turnovers. Bloomsburg was able to capitalize on the Millersville mistakes with 11 points off turnovers in the fourth. When it mattered most, the black and gold called on their number one scoring option and developing star point guard Daniella Ranieli, who scored 11 of her 19 points in the fourth quarter. Ranieli was relentless in attacking the basket once the press was broken, leading to three trips to the line in the final 30 seconds of play. Ranileii went 6 of 6 from the free-throw line to close out the game in a big spotlight for the young player.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- For the second game in the last two weeks, the Marauders had three double-digit scorers in Daniella Ranieli (19), who has been the most reliable to find herself in that conversation the last eight games of this 6-2 stretch. Carley Berk (13), eight of which were gathered at the free throw line, and Bryn Zentner (12), who has been a reliable scoring option for the Marauders as the second-highest leading scorer on average.
- Kelly Cleaver continued to anchor the Marauders defensively with three blocks and a steal.
- In a game with poor efficiencies from both sides, it was a battle of the boards in which the Marauders won 61 to 55.
- Millersville, who came into this game as the sixth seed in the PSAC East, climbed one rank to five but holds wins over the number two, three, and four seeds, being East Stroudsburg, Bloomsburg, and Kutztown, respectively.
UP NEXT
The Marauders will step away from home in a rematch against second-ranked East Stroudsburg in what would be a signature win for the Marauders to improve not only their seeding, but their record against the Warriors to 2-0 on the year. That game takes place a week from today on January 31 at 1:00 p.m.
