By: Jack Reed, sports information assistant
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University women's basketball team was back in action on Saturday, Jan. 30, when they hosted Manchester for the sixth time during this peculiar season. The women stayed perfect against the Spartans, defeating them by a final score of 78-60. Bluffton improved to 12-1 on the season as they had an outstanding team performance on Saturday.
Junior Emma Saltzman (Arlington) got the Beavers on the board with a basket early in the first quarter. Midway through the opening stanza, sophomore Sammy Shardo (Findlay-Liberty Benton connected on the first of her five made triples. In the final minute of the first quarter, senior Abbie Parkins (Bluffton) found Saltzman for an easy basket underneath. After one quarter, the score stood 15-12 with the home team prevailing.
Two minutes into the second quarter, senior Nora Hemminger (McComb) hauled in an offensive rebound and put it back in to extend Bluffton's lead. Brianna Gillig (New Riegel) followed with a layup from Hemminger. Freshman Maddie Fitzpatrick (Mount Gilead) connected on a three-ball with 4:30 left in the half, giving the Beavers a 26-19 advantage with just minutes to play in the first half. With less than 30 seconds left in the second stanza, Shardo drained another one from distance as Bluffton opened a 38-24 advantage over the Spartans.
Coming out of the half the Beavers continued their onslaught thanks to a layup by Hemminger. She then turned around and followed up two possessions later with a triple on an assist from Fitzpatrick. Sophomore Peyton Henry (Leipsic), who returned to the lineup on Saturday, cashed in from distance with just under four minutes on the clock. As the time ticked down in the third quarter, Sydney Cavanaugh (Mansfield/St. Peter's) threw the ball ahead to fellow freshman Angel Schneider (Columbus Grove) for an easy deuce and 57-42 spread heading into the final period.
Bluffton would continue its dominance in the fourth right out of the gate thanks to a three-point bomb from Cavanaugh on the dime from senior Kylie Brock (Villa Hills, KY/Dixie Heights). With three minutes to play, Fitzpatrick connected on a jump shot before Brock came away with a steal and took it the other way for two en route to the 78-60 victory over the Spartans.
Shardo led the Beavers with 19 on 7-of-10 shooting, followed by Saltzman who worked her magic around the basket with 17 markers and 10 for Hemminger. Saltzman's 17 markers were a career best and she was 7-of-10 on field goals. Parkins hauled in a team-high six rebounds, with Gillig and Fitzpatrick, who doled out five assists, each pulling down five boards. Shardo and Claire Myree (Cincinnati/Lakota West) both picked up three steals in the victory.
The Spartans edged out the Beavers by just one in the rebounding battle (36-35). Bluffton shot an impressive 50 percent from the field, going 30-of-60, and 10-for-24 from behind the arc (41.7 percent). The home team turned it over five fewer times (15-10) than the Spartans.
The Bluffton women are scheduled to play next Friday, Feb. 5, at Mount St. Joseph. Tip off in Cincinnati will be at 6:30 p.m.
-BEAVERS-
