By: Ethan Stearns, sports information assistant
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University women's basketball team fell short against the Mount St. Joseph Lions, 62-58, on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. The Beavers fell to 12-8 overall and 7-7 in the conference. The Lions improved their overall record to 12-8 with a 9-4 mark in the HCAC.
Both squads found it hard to put the ball in the hoop to start the game before Bluffton took a 16-12 lead at the end of the first. Sammy Shardo (Findlay/Liberty-Benton) and Kayla Prigge (Hamler/Patrick Henry) both hit from deep out of the gates. Morgan Smith (Arlington) found the bottom of the net with a contested jumper which put the Beavers up 8-5 with 5:06 on the clock. Kyla Columber (Marion/Pleasant) made a triple of her own at the 1:48 mark. Bluffton used some timely shots from deep to take a four-point lead into the second stanza.
MSJ opened the next quarter with a 4-0 run to knot the game up 16-16 at the nine-minute mark. Lacie Fenstermaker (Leipsic/Pandora-Gilboa) responded with an old-fashioned three-point play. Peyton Henry (Leipsic) added a layup to the effort as the home squad outscored the opponent 15-13 in the period for a 31-25 lead at the break.
The visiting team began its comeback in period number three, outscoring Bluffton by four and ending the quarter trailing by just a deuce (45-43). Shardo and Fenstermaker both added a couple of layups to their stat sheet and Maddie Fitzpatrick (Mount Gilead) hit a bunny of her own. Smith pulled down four rebounds in the quarter as she dominated the glass all night. Katie Neuhart (Delaware/Deleware Christian) netted two freebies to end the third with a two-point lead in favor of Bluffton.
The energy in the fourth was off the charts as both squads fought hard for the victory in a back-and-forth competition. After nearly three minutes without a bucket, MSJ tied it at 45 with a layin. Olivia Zender (Fostoria/Hopewell-Loudon) was fouled outside the arc on the next possession and she calmly knocked down all three attempts. The Beavers maintained a lead all the way up until the 47-second mark when the Lions took advantage of a steal and they outscored Bluffton 7-2 down the stretch for the 62-58 victory.
Smith turned in one of the best performances of her career, stuffing the stat sheet with 15 points, on 50 percent shooting from the field, and a career-high tying 17 rebounds! Smith also led her team in assists with four as well as blocks with three. Prigge added 10 tallies of her own. Shardo and Zender both had two steals.
The home squad was very efficient from the free-throw line, knocking down 12-of-15 (80 percent), but it struggled from the field, going 21-for-57 (36.8 percent) overall and 4-of-16 (25 percent) from distance. MSJ shot 23-of-70 (32.9 percent) from the floor and 4-of-12 (33.3 percent) beyond the arc. The Lions won the battle of the boards, pulling down 44 compared to 41 from Bluffton, and they outscored the Beavers 38-28 in the paint.
The women's team gets a week to prepare before hopping on the bus when it heads to Earlham for a conference matchup on Wednesday, Feb. 8. The Beavers hope to get a key HCAC victory as tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
-BEAVERS-
