SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University women's basketball team trailed by only two points entering the fourth quarter Saturday afternoon but was unable to overtake the visiting Bloomsburg Huskies in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) battle at Heiges Field House, 63-52.
 
Shippensburg (3-18, 2-13 PSAC) outscored the Huskies (5-16, 3-12) 14-to-6 in the final 6:27 of the third quarter thanks to seven third quarter-points from freshman point guard Bella Chimienti. Down 46-44 entering the final frame, Bloomsburg scored the first 10 points of the fourth quarter to come away with an 11-point road win.
 
Chimienti finished with 14 points to pace the Raider offense, including a 2-of-3 afternoon from beyond the arc. Junior Taja Colbert added 13 points and 4 assists.
 
Bloomsburg leading scorer Katie Starr netted 20 points and 4 steals. Husky guard Laura Kale also reached double-figures, scoring 12.
 
Colbert helped the Raiders maintain a brisk pace early on, scoring six first-quarter points. The Raiders then outscored the Huskies 15-11 in the second quarter, taking a 23-21 edge following a Chimienti trey with 6:19 remaining in the half. A basket by Bloomsburg's Ella Kale with two seconds left on the clock gave the visitors a 29-28 lead at the break.
 
Bloomsburg scored the first seven points and 10-of-12 coming out of the halftime locker room to regain a double-digit edge, 40-30. The run was punctuated by a Starr and-1 layup and a Maddie LaFrance trey. Six of the Husky points during that stretch came off Raider turnovers.
 
Shippensburg responded quickly, reeling off six straight points to trim the deficit back down to four. Late in the quarter, Chimienti took over, converting a pair of jumpers – including a three-point make – to cut the margin to just two points entering the final frame, 46-44.
 
SU shot 6-of-7 from the field in the third quarter (85.7%) to nearly claw its way back.
 
Much like the third, Bloomsburg started the fourth quarter strong. The Huskies claimed the first eight points of the frame, matching their biggest lead of the game at ten points, 54-44. Lauren Kirsch's three-pointer later stretched the margin to 13, 59-46, with three minutes left.
 
For Shippensburg, graduate guard Madi White scored eight points and pulled down six rebounds in her third start as a Raider. Junior forward Abbie Miller added five points and seven boards.
 
Sophomore forward Ellie Goodwin finished with a team-high plus-minus of +5 in 19 minutes off the Raider bench.
 
Next up, the Raiders hit the road to take on Millersville Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.