By: Nathan Zuercher, sports information assistant
BLUFFTON, Ohio – The Bluffton University women's basketball team stayed undefeated Wednesday night, outlasting the Adrian College Bulldogs 70-66 in overtime. With this win the Beavers moved to 6-0 overall, while the Bulldogs fell to 1-3. The icing on the cake is that it was Head Coach Chad Shutler's 200th career victory at Bluffton University!!!
Junior Brianna Gillig (New Riegel) returning to the lineup was key for the Beavers in the first period with her netting six of the 14 points. A pair of senior guards and a junior post also added to the offense with Emma Saltzman (Arcadia) tossing in two points, while Nora Hemminger (McComb) and Claire Myree (Cincinnati/Lakota West) added three points apiece. However, the home team still trailed 20-14 at the end of the first period.
Scoring started to pick up as the second quarter with sophomore Sammy Shardo (Findlay/Liberty-Benton) hitting a three at the 7:25 mark. Freshman Sydney Cavanaugh (Mansfield/St. Peter's) netted her own triple the next time down the floor as Bluffton pulled within 33-30 at the break.
The third quarter saw Saltzman toss in four points for the Beavers. Cavanaugh stayed sharp, converting a pair of free throws and another trifecta at the buzzer. The Bulldogs still held a slight 46-45 edge heading into the fourth quarter.
Hemminger willed the Beavers to overtime with all nine of Bluffton's points in the stanza. She started her scoring run with a free throw at the 5:40 mark. The senior then went on to make four layups with her last at the 2:48 mark which gave the Beavers a 54-52 lead. This was not enough though as Adrian made two free throws late in the game to tie the score. The Bulldogs then let their opportunity to win slip away when a missed layup with four ticks on the clock sent the game to overtime, deadlocked at 54-54.
Gillig picked up right where Hemminger left off. She dropped in eight points, including a HUGE 3-pointer at the 2:37 mark which made the score 62-58. Impressive freshman Maddie Fitzpatrick (Mount Gilead) added five critical points in the extra session as well, dialing long distance before driving down broadway to make it 67-60 with 1:30 to play. Hemminger capped it off with a free throw with nine seconds left, giving the home team a 70-66 win over the Bulldogs.
The two Beavers in double digits were Gillig with 20 and Hemminger with a career-high tying 18. These two also combined for 15 of the team's 48 rebounds. Fitzpatrick led the squad in assists with a career-best six. Saltzman, Haley Byrnes (Worthington/Thomas Worthington) and Taylor Malson (Castalia/Margaretta) all pulled down five caroms for the victors.
The Beavers had a rough night from the free throw line, only shooting 65.5 percent (19-of-29). Bluffton's seven three-pointers, especially the two in overtime helped them to close the game out. The home team pulled down nine more rebounds (48-39), but the Beavers also turned over three more times (24-21). Bluffton hit 22-of-60 from the field (36.7 percent), compared to 24-of-62 (38.7 percent) for the Bulldogs. Adrian won the battle in the paint (36-26), but Bluffton more than made up for it with a dominating 38-12 performance by the bench.
The women will be back in action on Saturday, Dec. 12, when they travel to Lexington, Ky., to take on the Transylvania University Pioneers in a non-league matchup. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.
-BEAVERS-