BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University women's basketball team dropped a 75-69 decision to Anderson in overtime on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022. Anderson improved to 5-5 overall and 2-2 in the Heartland Conference, while Bluffton slipped to 5-3 and 1-3 in the HCAC.
The Beavers trailed 63-59 with 1:31 to play in regulation before an Olivia Zender (Fostoria/Hopewell Louden) triple made it a one-point game. Morgan Smith (Arlington) split a pair of charity tosses with 40 seconds sending the game to overtime.
Bluffton knotted it up again with 3:32 to play in OT when Maddie Fitzpatrick (Mount Gilead) drained a pair of free throws, but the Ravens rolled off nine straight counters, opening up a 74-65 spread and effectively putting the game on ice. Senior Peyton Henry (Leipsic) hit from in close at the buzzer to make the final score 75-69 in favor of the visitors.
Kayla Prigge (Hamler/Patrick Henry) put Bluffton up 6-0 less than three minutes in when she buried her second triple of the game. A Zender three-ball made it 11-7 midway through the opening stanza. Anderson used an 11-4 spurt to go up 18-15 after one frame.
Fitzpatrick and Prigge opened the second quarter with trifectas and Bluffton led 21-18 at the 8:39 mark. Following a 12-4 Anderson spurt, Bluffton rallied to knot the score at 32 apiece thanks to Prigge's fourth triple of the half.
Bluffton led by as many as five in period three and AU flipped the script with a five-point lead (56-51) in the fourth quarter before the Beavers outscored the visitors 12-7 down the stretch, pushing the contest into extra time.
Prigge led the way with 18 points on 4-of-4 shooting from deep in the first half. Smith dominated inside with 17 points and a career-high 17 rebounds. Fitzpatrick and Zender added 11 and 10 markers, respectively. Fitzpatrick ripped down 11 boards for her 3rd career double-double. It was the 10th career double-double for Smith.
Bluffton struggled to a paltry 27.5 percent afternoon from the field (22-of-80), including just 10-for-33 (30.3 percent) outside the arc. The Beavers pulled down nine more rebounds (60-51), but the home team also turned it over three more times (15-12). Anderson finished with a 30-14 spread in paint points.
The Beavers are back in the Sommer Center for a 6 p.m. tip-off with non-conference foe Adrian College on Tuesday, Dec. 20.
-BEAVERS-
