By: Jack Reed, sports information assistant

BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University women's basketball team slugged it out for four quarters before coming away with a 46-37 win over Adrian on Monday, Dec. 7, 2020. The Beavers stayed perfect at 5-0, while Adrian slipped to 1-2 with its second loss to a Heartland Conference opponent in three days. Transylvania downed the Bulldogs 48-26 in Lexington, KY, on Saturday afternoon.

Senior Nora Hemminger (McComb) got the Beavers in the scoring column with four straight points that consisted of a made free throw and an old-fashioned three-point play following a steal. At the 2:20 mark, freshman Sydney Cavanaugh (Mansfield/St. Peter's) drained a three courtesy of an assist from Taylor Malson (Castalia/Margaretta). Senior Kylie Brock (Villa Hills, KY, Dixie Heights) hit a mid-range jumper to knot things up at 11-11 heading into the second quarter.

The beginning of the second period was more of the same as it took over two minutes to get on the scoreboard, which finally came from a Sammy Shardo (Findlay/Liberty-Benton) triple that gave Bluffton the 14-11 edge over Adrian. The rest of the quarter was not friendly to the Beavers as Angel Schneider (Columbus Grove) and Hemminger were the only two players to score for the Beavers. At the half, the score stood 18-17 with the Bulldogs prevailing.

The Beavers looked like a whole new team in the second half as they quickly grab the lead thanks to a pair of free throw makes from Hemminger. At the five-minute mark of the third quarter, freshman Maddie Fitzpatrick (Mount Gilead) cashed in on a jumper to extend Bluffton's lead to eight. Adrian would not go away, though, as the visitors finished the quarter only trailing by five (31-26).

Junior post Emma Saltzman (Arcadia) got things going for the Beavers in the fourth with a jumper at the 9:49 mark. Saltzman would be the player the Beavers needed to push them to victory as she went on to score seven points in the fourth quarter alone. Shardo would drain a crucial three on a kick out from Saltzman at the 2:03 mark to give Bluffton its largest lead of the game as the Beavers moved to 5-0 with the 46-37 victory.

Hemminger was the lone Beaver in double figures with 11 points. She just missed out on her second career double double with nine boards and the senior also picked up a career-high six steals. Saltzman added eight counters and seven rebounds on 3-of-6 shooting from the field. Shardo and Fitzpatrick, who handed out four assists, chipped in with six points apiece. 

The Beavers struggled to put the biscuit in the basket, going 13-of-46 (28.3 percent) from the field. Adrian found the sledding even tougher, hitting only 13-of-63 for a paltry 20.6 percent. The Bulldogs connected on just 1-of-12 (8.3 percent) from distance. Bluffton finished 16-of-28 (57.1 percent) from the free throw line, compared to a 10-of-24 (41.7 percent) performance for the visitors. Adrian pulled down 12 more boards (52-40) and the teams combined for an unbelievable 57 turnovers (29-28 in favor of Bluffton).

The Bulldogs won the battle in the paint (22-8), but the home team made up ground with a 12-2 edge in fast break points.

Adrian will return to the Sommer Center on Wednesday, Dec. 9, for round two with tip-off slated for 6 p.m.

-BEAVERS-