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MANSFIELD, Pa. – The 16^th-ranked Bloomsburg University women's basketball team clinched its fourth consecutive outright Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division regular season title by pushing its winning streak to 15 straight games with a 63-55 victory over Mansfield on Saturday afternoon.
 
Bloomsburg moves to 22-3 overall on the season including 13-2 in PSAC East play while Mansfield completes its season at 0-26, 0-16.
 
Mansfield didn't make things easy for the Huskies while celebrating its Senior Day, however. After the Huskies took an eight-point lead early at 17-9, the Mountaineers went on a 9-0 run to grab an 18-17 edge following a jumper from Alyssa DeRichie at the 7:54 mark of the first half.
 
A 9-2 sprint by Bloomsburg gave the Huskies a six-point lead again and they would ultimately take an eight-point edge into intermission at 32-24.
 
The Huskies stretched their advantage to double digits for the first time at 38-28 with 15:48 remaining on a jumper by Jocelyn Ford (Lansing, NY/Lansing).
 
Bloomsburg slowly pulled away from there, running its lead to as many as 18 points at 55-37 following a 3-pointer from Marla Simmons (Lebanon/Cedar Crest) with 8:47 to play.
 
Mansfield refused to go away, though, chipping away at the Huskies' lead, pulling back within nine with 2:46 left following free throws from senior Jena Matter. Ford answered on the other end with a layup to put the score at 61-50, but Mansfield would get as close as six at 61-55 with 59 seconds to play.
 
A Mountaineers foul sent Ford to the line and she knocked down both shots before Brianna Dudeck (Sugarloaf/Hazleton) forced a steal on the ensuing Mansfield possession to effectively put the game on ice.
 
Ford narrowly missed a double-double effort, finishing with 16 points and nine rebounds while Catherine Noack (Bethlehem/Liberty) also poured in 16 points.
 
Matter registered 16 points to lead Mansfield.
 
The Huskies celebrate Senior Night on Wednesday, hosting Kutztown in the regular season finale at Nelson Field House for a 5:30 p.m. start. Wednesday is a Gold Rush night at Nelson Field House with fans asked to wear gold to the game.
 
GAME NOTES: Bloomsburg will be the top seed from the Eastern Division in the PSAC Tournament and will earn a first round bye. The Huskies will host a quarterfinal contest vs. an opponent to be determined on Tuesday, March 4 at Nelson Field House … the Huskies shot 45.5 percent from the floor (25-for-55) while Mansfield was at 34 percent (18-53) … Bloomsburg won the battle of the boards by a 41-31 margin …  Taylor Kaminski (Philadelphia/Archbishop Wood) had a career-high seven rebounds … Marla Simmons (Lebanon/Cedar Crest) tallied nine points and seven boards … Bloomsburg entered the day with the fourth-longest active winning streak in Division II …. the Huskies have won 11 straight games over Mansfield and lead the all-time series 56-10.