BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University women's basketball team did a complete 360 in a span of four days, dominating Olivet College 77-43 in front of a packed Sommer Center on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021. The Bluffton offense sputtered in the home opener with Oberlin on Saturday, but the Beavers came to play on Wednesday as they looked like a completely different team. The home favorites evened up their mark at 1-1, while an Olivet squad that came in averaging 80 points per game fell to 1-2 after scoring just over half of that on Wednesday night.
Bluffton trailed 11-10 with 2:05 to play in the opening stanza before senior Emma Saltzman (Arcadia) hit consecutive buckets for the home team, giving the Beavers a 14-11 advantage heading into the second quarter.
A pair of Sammy Shardo (Findlay/Liberty-Benton) trifectas and four points from Brianna Gillig (New Riegel) helped Bluffton push that spread to 10 points (26-16) just over four minutes into quarter two. Angel Schneider (Columbus Grove) came through with six straight points in 70 seconds and Shardo followed with a quick deuce before Sydney Cavanaugh (Mansfield/St. Peter's) and Morgan Smith (Arlington) capped off a 24-13 quarter for the Beavers, giving the home team a 38-24 lead at the break.
Cavanaugh and Smith were up to their old tricks late in the third quarter, pushing the lead to 19 points at the 2:26 mark and then Schneider hit twice in a span of 30 seconds as Bluffton took a commanding 58-38 lead with 10 minutes to play.
Maddie Fitzpatrick (Mount Gilead) hit from long distance to open period four and Shardo followed with two triples of her own as the Bluffton lead mushroomed to 67-38 with 5:57 to play. Cavanaugh and Breena Plank (Ashland) both cashed in from outside the arc in the waning minutes and freshman Lindsey Smith (Mount Victory/Kenton) got free in the key with 10 seconds to play as Bluffton pounded Olivet 77-43 in front of the Sommer Center faithful.
The Beavers hit 31-of-64 (48.4 percent) from the field, including 7-of-24 (29.2) from distance. Bluffton hammered away on the glass (46-28), while Olivet turned it over five more times (17-12). The home team dominated in the paint (44-22), off turnovers (26-10) and in bench scoring (36-7).
Shardo hit 4-of-8 from distance for a game-high 18 points and she pulled down a career-high seven rebounds. Smith and Schneider followed with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Smith ripped down a game-best eight boards for the seond straight game, while Gillig added seven caroms. Gillig, Shardo and Ella Zaborowski (Toledo/Toledo Christian) all dished out three assists, while Cavanaugh added eight markers.
Bluffton will hit the highway for its first road contest next Tuesday, Nov. 23, when the Beavers travel to Heidelberg for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
-BEAVERS-
