The Bloomsburg University Women’s basketball team is having another fantastic season, as they currently sit at 24-3, and are Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division champions for the fifth consecutive year. Adding to the already exciting season, four Husky players and head coach Bill Cleary were honored Thursday afternoon when end of the season awards were announced.
Senior Marla Simmons was named PSAC East Player of the Year and was named to the All-PSAC First Team, while guard Camden Boehner was named the Freshman of the Year. Adreana Sadowski and Jocelyn Ford were named to the All-PSAC Second Team, and head coach Bill Cleary was named the PSAC East Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.
Cleary stated that this award was not just for him but also for assistant coach Diane Decker, who has been with him for all seven seasons at Bloomsburg.
“To me it is Co-Coach of the Year. Diane Decker has been fantastic… I am very fortunate to coach with her every single day. I think we make a great team”.
The Huskies’ head coach also gave credit to his players for their hard work, stating, “The players have done a fantastic job. They believe in what we do here. They work hard and sacrifice a lot.”
Photo courtesy of Bloomsburg Sports Information
Forwards Adreana Sadowski and Jocelyn Ford were named to the All-PSAC Second Team and are third and fourth respectively in scoring on the team. This is Sadowski’s first appearance on an All-PSAC team, as she is averaging 10.8 points per game on a PSAC-leading 58% from the field. Meanwhile, Ford third on the team in rebounds (4.2) and assists (2.6), and is on the second team for consecutive years.
“It’s humbling to know that people think highly of you around the conference,” said Ford. “It’s definitely an honor because there are so many great players in the league.”
Sadowski stated, “It’s a great accomplishment, and I could not have achieved it without any of my teammates and coaches’ support this year.”
Photo courtesy of Bloomsburg Sports Information
Photo courtesy of Bloomsburg Sports Information
Boehner’s award came as little surprise, as she was named PSAC East Freshman of the Week six times during the regular season. She is scoring 9.2 points per game while connecting on 36% of her attempts from three-point range.
Boehner commented, saying, “It’s humbling and a great thing to accomplish in my first year as a college athlete and I couldn’t have done it without my teammates.”
Photo courtesy of Bloomsburg Sports Information
For Simmons, PSAC East Player of the Year showcases a huge step up in her game from a season ago, where she was the sixth leading scorer on a Huskies’ team that went 26-5 and made it to the NCAA Regional Final. With the graduation of leading scorer and 2013-14 POY Catherine Noack (16.5 ppg), as well as Brianna Dudeck (7.7 ppg), Bloomsburg needed someone to step up and fill in their shoes. That person turned out to be Simmons, who has upped her scoring to 14.2 points a game, while shooting 40% from 3-point range. She is one of only two Huskies, along with sophomore guard Morgan Klunk, to start in all 27 games so far this year.
Photo courtesy of Bloomsburg Sports Information
When asked what it meant to her to be awarded East Player of the Year, Simmons said, “It means a lot, because I put in a lot of work, so it is nice to see the rewards of all that hard work.” The senior forward who played at Cedar Crest high school before coming to Bloomsburg described her senior season as a “Hell of a ride,” and “Far from over.”
Only time will tell how far the Huskies will make it, both in conference tournament, and NCAA tournament play, but one thing is for sure, they have had a season that students, staff and fans can all be proud of.
