MANSFIELD – Mia Leonard continued to be a force around the rim for the Mansfield University women's basketball team, but Bloomsburg was able to pull away with a 55-42 win at First Citizens Community Bank Court in Decker Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.
 
The top-seeded Huskies (13-6, 8-3 PSAC) edged Mansfield 9-6 through the first four minutes of play, but Ellie Thompson scored four of the Mounties' first six points and Paige Whitfield banked in a 3-pointer to tie the game. On the ensuing Bloomsburg possession, Whitfield earned a charge call to give the Mounties the ball back.  The back-and-forth quarter drew to a close after McKenzie Hatch sunk a baseline floater to make it 14-13.
 
Erin Gibbons made her first appearance since suffering an injury in the Mounties' win over Kutztown two weeks ago. At the beginning of the second quarter, the sophomore knocked down a trifecta to give Mansfield their first lead of the game. The Huskies responded about a minute later and tied the game.
 
Bloomsburg then went on a 10-4 run to gain some momentum.  Leonard made a layup to cut into the lead, but a 16-7 second quarter put the Huskies up for good.
 
The Mountaineers (1-15, 1-12 PSAC) allowed 21 points off of turnovers in the contest, but it was Leonard's defensive prowess that kept Mansfield in the game. The sophomore scored 12 points, but her career-high eight blocks were the highlight of the match. Entering Saturday, the center ranked 27^th nationally in the blocks per game category, averaging 2.27 per game. In addition, Leonard came away with a team-high four steals on Saturday afternoon, while accumulating eight rebounds.
 
Thompson led the team by grabbing her career-high of 10 rebounds.  The freshman was just two points shy of a double-double.
 
Paige Whitfield and Gibbons both hit double digits in scoring, combining for 20 points, six assists, and six rebounds.

Emma Saxton scored a game-high 15 points for the Huskies as the Bloomsburg University women's basketball team won their fourth straight.

Mansfield next travels to Cheyney on Wednesday for their final game of January.  The non-conference matchup starts at 5:30 p.m.