By: Takayla Gadberry, sports information alumna
BLUFFTON, Ohio – The Bluffton University women's basketball team stayed hot with a 63-51 victory over Heidelberg University on Tuesday, Nov. 22. The Beavers improved to 3-0 following the win, while the Student Princes fell to 1-3.
Kayla Prigge (Hamler/Patrick Henry) started the scoring with a three before Sammy Shardo (Findlay/Liberty-Benton) gave Bluffton a 5-0 lead with a two-point jumper. Olivia Zender (Fostoria/Hopewell Loudon) drained two shots from outside the arc to give the home team an 18-12 lead at the end of the first.
It was a quiet start to the second quarter before Maddie Fitzpatrick (Mount Gilead) got free at the 7:20 mark for a 20-15 lead in favor of Bluffton. A 6-0 run for the good guys increased their spread to 26-15. A strong offensive presence for the visitors pulled them back within two (26-24), but three Lacie Fenstermaker (Leipsic/Pandora-Gilboa) charity shots capped the half off with a 29-24 lead for Bluffton.
Prigge started off the third quarter with two freebies followed by a deuce and a three from Fitzpatrick, pushing the Beaver lead to eight (36-28). Five straight points from Zender saw the spread balloon to 14 (46-32) before a pair of Shardo foul shots helped Bluffton finish the quarter with a 48-37 advantage.
Peyton Henry (Leipsic) dialed long distance, making it 53-38 early in the fourth quarter. A 5-0 run for the Student Princes pulled them within nine (54-45) but a few more buckets for the Beavers secured their 63-51 victory to stay perfect through the first three games.
Shardo powered the Beaver offense with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Zender was one off her pace with 13 markers. Morgan Smith (Arlington) led the defense with 14 rebounds and 12 points for her second double-double in as many games. Fitzpatrick made it four Beavers in double figures with 11 points on an efficient 5-of-7 shooting display. Fenstermaker and Zender both pulled down six boards in the win.
The Beavers had a clear lead in the shooting game, going 22-54 (40.7 percent) from the field and 7-of-19 (36.8 percent) from distance, compared to a paltry 15-of-58 (25.9 percent) overall and 2-of-10 (20 percent) from beyond the arc for Heidelberg. The Student Princes had the shooting edge on freebies, going 19-of-22 (86.4 percent), compared to just 12-of-22 (54.5 percent) for Bluffton. The Beavers pulled down one more board (41-40) and scored 15 of the 18 fast break points on Tuesday night.
The women are back in action on Monday, Nov. 28, when they travel south down Interstate 75 to Mount St. Joseph for the Heartland Conference lidlifter. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Cincinnati. Go Beavers!
-BEAVERS-
