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EAST STROUDSBURG – Senior guard Imani Brown scored 16 points, reaching 1,000 for her collegiate career late in the first quarter, and sophomore guard Tiffany Lapotsky added 12 points to lift East Stroudsburg University to a tight 63-59 win over Bloomsburg at Koehler Fieldhouse on Saturday.

Brown became the 16th player in program history to reach the 1,000 point milestone on a 3-pointer with 1:55 remaining in the opening quarter. She would later sink a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to help the Warriors (10-4, 8-2 PSAC) earn a fifth victory in the past six games. ESU also extended its winning streak over the Huskies (6-11, 3-8 PSAC) to five games.

Free throws played a key role in the outcome, as ESU went 18 for 21 (85.7 percent) at the line compared to 18 for 28 (64.3 percent) for the visitors. That disparity helped the Warriors overcome a 34.5 percent shooting performance from the field overall and maintain a half-game lead over West Chester in the PSAC East standings.

There were a total of 12 ties and 13 lead changes, and neither side was in front by more than five points in the opening 35+ minutes of the contest. ESU took a slim 30-28 advantage into the intermission after freshman guard Abby Schoffstall drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

All 12 of Lapotsky's points came in the third quarter, as she went 3 for 4 from the field (2-2 3FG) and hit all four of her free throw attempts. Another buzzer-beater, this time a jumper by Lapotsky, had the Warriors ahead 49-47 heading into the final 10 minutes.

The score was 56-52, ESU, at the final media timeout with 4:24 remaining. Bloomsburg hit 1 of 2 free throw attempts after that timeout to pull within three, but sophomore guard Sadie Cresswell followed with five straight points for the Warriors to give the home side their largest lead of eight at 61-53. The Huskies could get no closer than four points the rest of the way.

Brown added a team-high nine rebounds to go along with her 16 points. Freshman forward Marlene Bassett chipped in eight points and eight rebounds, and sophomore guard Jordan Hertz had a team-best five assists and three steals.

Emma Saxton had a game-high 17 points (7-15 FG) for Bloomsburg, while Taylor Montana supplied 13 points and nine rebounds.

ESU can now look ahead to its first matchup of the season against West Chester, as the Warriors travel to face the Golden Rams at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. West Chester (11-4, 8-3) maintained its pace in the East standings with an 88-55 victory at Lock Haven on Saturday.