SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University women's basketball team went toe-to-toe with Bloomsburg on Saturday as it battled to try and extend its season, but the Raiders fell 66-58 to the Huskies and were eliminated from Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) playoff contention on Senior Day from Heiges Field House.
 
Shippensburg (7-21, 6-16 PSAC) honored its two seniors – Victoria Blackburn and Kristin McGeough before the game. Both women played big roles in Saturday's contest, as McGeough posted double figures for the 10th time this season by totaling 12 points, eight rebounds and matching a career high with three steals. Blackburn had seven points and three assists.
 
The Raiders led 19-11 after the first quarter and managed a 27-24 lead at halftime despite being limited to just eight second-quarter points. SU led 42-41 after three quarters, but Bloomsburg (13-15, 10-12) shot 57 percent and out-scored the Raiders by nine points over the final 10 minutes to record its seventh straight victory.
 
The Huskies got 45 of their 66 points from bench players, including a game-high 23 points from Alyssa Mack. Taylor Montana, who also came off the bench, scored 11 points for the visitors. BU, ranked third in the PSAC in field-goal percentage defense entering the game, limited the Raiders to just 35-percent shooting from the field.
 
Tori Blackburn completes her SU career with 550 points, 188 assists and 75 steals in 112 career games. She served the last two seasons as a team captain. As a senior, Blackburn posted double figures in 14 games this season and ranked among the PSAC's Top 8 in assists per game.
 
McGeough completes her SU career with 423 points, 344 rebounds and 71 blocks in 99 career games. Her 43 blocks this season are the most by a Raider in 12 years. She recorded seven or more rebounds in 14 games this season, including Saturday.
 
Freshman Ariel Jones scored 21 points, making 8-of-8 at the free-throw line, to go along with an assist and two steals. Jones became the 21st player (and only freshman) in PSAC history to reach 600 points in a single season, finishing with 609 points to rank seventh in the SU record books for the category. It is the most points in a single season by a Raider since Lauren Beckley scored 654 points in the 2009-10 campaign.
 
Jones also finished the season with 190 made free throws – a total that ties for seventh in PSAC single-season history. The mark is second in the SU record books, with only Melissa Swartz's 219 free throws in the 1995-96 season ranking higher.
 
Her tremendous freshman season concludes with double-digit scoring performances in 27-of-28 games, including 16 games of 20 or more points and five games of 30 or more points. The only freshman in NCAA Division II to rank among the Top 20 scorers this season, Jones finishes with a 21.8 points-per-game average.
 
Freshman Kryshell Gordy scored eight points on 4-of-6 shooting and totaled seven rebounds. Freshman Kasey Engle scored seven points and matched a career high with seven rebounds.