2020 PSAC Women's Basketball Championship Central

EAST STROUDSBURG – The East Stroudsburg University women's basketball will make its first appearance in the PSAC Semifinals since 2016-17 as the Warriors recorded a 53-42 victory against Bloomsburg on Wednesday in a PSAC Quarterfinal contest inside Koehler Fieldhouse.
 
ESU (20-9) notched its fifth 20-win season in program history and first since 2006-07 as the Warriors finished with an overall record of 25-4. The Warriors had back-to-back 20-win seasons in 1993-94 and 1994-95 and hit the mark during the 1984-85 season.
 
Senior Tiffany Lapotsky delivered a game-high 22 points for the Warriors as she finished 8-of-18 from the field to go along with five rebounds and two steals. Redshirt sophomore Julia Kutz tallied 15 points in a game for the fifth time this season and finished 6-of-7 from the field. Senior Jordan Hertz finished the contest with nine assists for the Warriors, while junior Abby Schoffstall added five steals.
 
The Warriors would lead by as many as 24 points in the opening half against Bloomsburg as ESU went 14-of-27 from the field. The Warriors outscored the Huskies 19-8 in the first quarter as junior Kiersten Librizzi stretched the lead to 11 points with 1:36 left in the quarter following her jumper.
 
Kutz opened the second quarter for the Warriors with a jumper to make it 21-8 off a feed from Hertz. The offensive run continued for ESU as Hertz drained her lone 3-pointer of the night with 5:45 left in the quarter to make it 24-8. Junior Kaitlyn Swint would give ESU a 24-point cushion as her jumper made it 32-8.
 
Bloomsburg tallied its first points of the quarter with 1:51 left as Emma Gochnauer hit a layup to make it 32-10. The Huskies closed the quarter with a 4-0 run as Lauren Oeth hit a jumper before Emma Saxton beat the buzzer with a layup to trim the deficit to 34-15 heading into the half.
 
The Huskies worked to cut the gap in the third quarter as Saxton made it 34-19 following a layup with 7:44 left on the clock. Lapotsky helped to increase the Warriors' advantage back to 39-19 following a trey and a jumper in the paint. Bloomsburg tallied the final points of the third quarter as Gochnauer hit a jumper off an assist from Payton Spadaccino to make it 41-27 with 2:14 on the clock.
 
The Warriors increased their lead to 17 points early in the fourth quarter as redshirt freshman Cassie Ksiazek tallied three consecutive points to make it 44-27. The Huskies trailed 46-31 with 6:13 left in the contest and rallied to trim the deficit to 46-38 with 4:29 on the clock. Meghan Corridoni connected on a 3-pointer to pull her team within single-digits of ESU.
 
Kutz finished a crucial 3-point play with 1:06 left in the contest as she stretched the ESU lead to 51-38 after hitting her free-throw. Lapotsky would tally the final points of the contest to secure the victory for ESU as her layup with 11 seconds left made it 53-39. Corridoni hit a trey with four seconds left to make it 53-42.
 
ESU will travel to Indiana, Pa. on Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. semifinal matchup against the nationally-ranked No. 7 Crimson Hawks. IUP will host the final rounds of the PSAC Tournament with the winner of ESU/IUP to face the winner of Shippensburg/Gannon on Sunday at a time to be determined later.