BLOOMFIELD, N.J. - The Bloomfield College Bears women's basketball team suffered a 62-73 setback Wednesday evening in an East Region showdown with the Warriors of Merrimack College. The loss haulted a three-game winning streak for Bloomfield as they fell to 5-4 overall on the year and 3-1 in conference play. The Warriors improve to 7-3 on the year with a 4-2 mark in conference action.

Aria Johnson (Los Osos, Calif.) created havoc against the Bears on both sides of the court recording her fourth double-double of the year with game-high 18 points and 13 rebounds. Johnson finished the match shooting 9-for-12 from the field, leading four Merrimack players in double-figures and a team that shot 55.9% for the game. Bloomfield's offense was paced by junior guard, Ariel Wilson (Chesapeake, Va.) who netted 17 points for the evening followed by sophomore Tianna Smith (Nanuet, N.Y.) who added 16 points to the Bears effort. Senior center, Tierra Scott (Bear, D.E.) notched 7 rebounds during the contest and sophomore Morgan Taylor (Paterson, N.J.) rounded out Bloomfield's high scorers with 11 points and 5 assists.

The Bears saw two early leads in the game's first six minutes but trailed from that point on. The Warriors enjoyed a ten point lead (22-12) with just under 10 minutes to go in the first half when Bloomfield mounted a 10-4 run to close the gap to four (26-22). Johnson buried a jumper in the paint to close out the scoring for the opening stanza and Merrimack enjoyed a 38-30 lead heading into the break.

The second half saw no relief for the Bears, who after watching Johnson convert a lay up in the paint, found themselves down seventeen (67-50) with 8:35 left on the clock. Bloomfield would get as close as eleven (71-60) late in the game but succumbed to that margin as the buzzer sounded on the Merrimack victory. The Warriors dominated the game in the paint, outscoring Bloomfield 46-16 and the Merrimack reserves bested the Bears 25-11.

Next up, Bloomfield will close out their 2014 calendar year with another East Region battle, this time taking on the Greyhounds of Assumption College. Tip off is set for 1:00 pm and is slated as a doubleheader with the men's team facing Merrimack at 3:00 pm. Stay up-to-date with the latest news, including game previews and recaps, from the Bloomfield College athletic department by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter or Instagram @GO_BCBears.