By: Takayla Gadberry, sports information assistant
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University women's basketball squad welcomed Mount St. Joseph to Copeland Court on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020. Despite trailing early, the Beavers secured a 57-48 victory over the Lions. Bluffton improved to 11-9 (5-8 HCAC), while MSJ slipped to 6-14 (5-8 HCAC).
Mount controlled the tip but Emma Saltzman (Arcadia) made the first shot to give the Beavers a 2-0 lead. A 5-0 run for the Lions made it 9-4, but a layup and triple from Brianna Gillig (New Riegel) evend up the score at 9-9. Mount took the lead again before a Morgan Smith (Arlington) freebie and an Abbie Parkins (Bluffton) trifecta gave the Beavers a 19-16 lead at the end of the first.
It was a slow start to the second quarter before Parkins hit a shot in the paint at the 7:56 mark to put Bluffton up by three (21-18). Peyton Henry (Leipsic) followed with the next two buckets for five points and a 26-22 advantage. Senior Tj Mills (Dayton/Chaminade-Julienne) hit a shot from deep to push the Beavers ahead 31-25 going into the break.
A pair of triples from Parkins and Kylie Brock (Villa Hills, KY/Dixie Heights) and two Gillig charity shots gave the home team an early 11-point lead (41-30) in the third as the Beavers rolled off 10 straight counters. Free throws were the highlight of the quarter as four more from Brock and Mills would give Bluffton a 47-36 cushion at the end of three.
Saltzman and Mills both netted layups early in the fourth to push the score to 51-40 in favor of the good guys. Two more Brock freebies and two field goals from Gillig secured the 57-48 victory.
Leading Bluffton was Gillig with 17 points and 11 rebounds for her seventh career double-double. Parkins and Mills tallied 11 and 10 markers, respectively. Saltzman pulled down seven rebounds with Henry pitching in five. Mills just missed out on a double-double with a career-high tying nine dimes!
The Beavers connected on 20-of-57 (35.1 percent) field goals, including 7-of-19 (36.8 percent) from deep. Mount netted 18-of-53 (34 percent) and just 4-of-19 (21.1 percent) from outside the arc. Bluffton converted 10-of-16 (62.5 percent) at the line, compared to 8-of-13 (61.5 percent) for the Lions. The home team also pulled down four more rebounds (41-37), while MSJ coughed the ball up one more time (7-6).
The women are back in action on Saturday, Feb. 8, when they travel to Anderson University. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. with the men's game to follow at 4 p.m. Go Beavers!
-BEAVERS-