BUFFALO, NY – The Bloomfield College women's basketball team advanced to play in the USCAA National Tournament Championship game after defeating Bryant & Stratton College of Buffalo, 75-53 Thursday night. The semifinal victory from the Nations #1 team pushed their over record to, 18-6 while the Bobcats season came to a close at, 18-7 at the Burt Flickinger Athletic Center.
 
The National Player of the Year, Nia Mallette paced the Bears offense with a tournament-high, 36 points, shooting just over 50.0 percent from the field (14-of-27). The win ensured the #1 seed a spot in the Championship Final being played on Friday, March 6, 2026.  
 
THE BASICS:
SCORE: BSC Buffalo 53, Bloomfield 75
LOCATION: Buffalo, N.Y. | Burt Flickinger Athletic Center
ALL-TIME MEETINGS: BSC Buffalo 0-3, Bloomfield 3-0

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• First Team All-American, Anisha Able got the scoring underway with her third made three-pointer of the season and the Bloomfield offense never looked back as they led from wire-to-wire.
• A Mallette jumper at the 2:56 minute mark of the first put Bloomfield up, 18-4 and they closed out the period with, 24-12 lead.
• The top team's offense cooled off slightly in the 2^nd quarter when their shooting percentage dropped to 27.3 percent (6-for-22) but they still managed to go into intermission up 40-26 after they defense forced 9 Bobcats turnovers. 
• Mallette came alive in the third quarter, scoring 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting which included 2-of-3 from deep. The #4 seed couldn't find an answer for the First Team All-American and the Bears cruised to the first semifinal win in their USCAA Tournament history. 
• Mallette set a new tournament single game individual record with her 36 points. A record that stood since March 3, 2010 when Sharon Houston of Indiana Univ.-NW scored 35 against Talladega College. 
• Able finished the record-setting night with her 20^th straight double-double, dropping18 points to sit alongside 10 rebounds. 
• Jayleen Valera came off the bench to score her season-high, 11 points and added 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Mallette also finished the game with a double-double, snagging 13 rebounds to go along with her postseason best, 29 points. 

UP NEXT:
 
Bloomfield will take on the 3^th seeded, Paul Quinn College from Dallas, Texas in the USCAA National Championship game on Friday, March 6, 2026. The Tigers defeated #2 seeded, North American University, 71-68 to secure their spot in the tournament final. The teams will battle at 5:30 pm at the Burt Flickinger Athletic Center to crown the USCAA National Champion. 
 
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About the USCAA

The USCAA is a national governing body that exists to provide opportunities for small colleges to compete against institutions for National Championships and student-athlete recognition.  The 70-member association was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.