CINCINNATI, Ohio - The Bluffton University women's basketball team kicked off Heartland Conference action with a 73-63 win at Mount St. Joseph on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022. Bluffton stayed perfect at 4-0 and 1-0 in the conference, while the Lions fell to 1-3 and 0-1 in the HCAC.
Sophomore Kayla Prigge (Hamler/Patrick Henry) got the Beavers on the board at the 9:04 mark in period one when she knocked down a jumper. A pair of Morgan Smith (Arlington) buckets and a Maddie Fitzpatrick (Mount Gilead) layin put Bluffton up 8-3 with six minutes on the clock. Six Beaver freebies and a Sammy Shardo (Findlay/Liberty-Benton) helped the good guys open up a 16-11 lead, but MSJ scored five straight, including a Karlee Mills layup just before the buzzer, to knot it up at 16-16 after one frame.
The visitors went on a 17-5 scoring binge in the second quarter, using a stifling defense to forge ahead 33-21 at the half. Prigge and Smith combined for a dozen points and Fitzpatrick drained a three to power the Beavers in period two.
MSJ pulled within four points (37-33) at the 4:43 mark of the third quarter, but Bluffton tamed the Lions with a 32-15 run that put the game on ice. The Beavers led 69-48 with just under six minutes to play when Fitzpatrick collected a Smith miss and put it back up and in. MSJ cut it to 10 (71-61) at the 2:17 mark thanks to a quick trigger by the visitors, but Bluffton held on for the 73-63 win Monday night.
Smith and Fitzpatrick dominated the Lions with a pair of huge double-doubles. Fitzpatrick notched her second with 17 counters a career-best 12 rebounds. Smith hammered away with 19 points and a game-high 13 boards. Prigge made it three in double figures with 18 markers on 8-of-15 from the field. Shardo picked up a career-high eight steals and dished out a team-high five dimes. Freshman Kyla Columber (Marion/Pleasant) chipped in with a career-high four dimes in 13 minutes off the bench.
Bluffton hit 26-of-67 (38.8 percent) from the field and limited MSJ to 16-for-60 (26.7 percent). The Lions made hay at the line, draining 26-of-34 for 76.5 percent on their freebies. Bluffton pulled down five more rebounds (47-42) and the Beavers forced MSJ into a whopping 30 turnovers.
Next up for the women is a battle with Hanover College. The Panthers will invade the Sommer Center on Saturday, Dec. 3, at 2 p.m. as part of a women's and men's Heartland Conference doubleheader. Go Beavers!
-BEAVERS-