ADRIAN, Mich. - The Bluffton University women's basketball team trailed 12-4 after one quarter but had a chance to win with five seconds to play at Adrian College on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. Senior Maddie Fitzpatrick's (Mount Gilead) shot was just off the mark as the Bulldogs held on for a 44-43 victory.
Bluffton trailed 16-5 with just under six minutes to play in the first half when Fitzpatrick hit from distance. Deuces by Kyla Columber (Marion/Pleasant) and Olivia Zender (Fostoria/Hopewell Louden) sandwiched around a Bulldog tunrover pulled the Beavers within seven points (20-13) two minutes later.
Zender continued her onlaught, scoring nine straight which knotted the game at 20-20 with 1:32 on the clock. Adrian responded with a pair of layups, making it 24-20 at the break.
Columber drilled a triple and sank a free throw before Zender's jump shot knotted it at 26 apiece with 6:09 to play in the third quarter. A Zender trifecta gave the Beavers their first lead of the game (29-28). Lacie Fenstermaker (Leipsic/Pandora-Gilboa) got into the scoring column late in the period, but Adrian took a 34-31 lead into the final stanza.
Two Lindsey Smith (Mount Victory/Kenton) buckets kept the visitors within three points (38-35) and when Tamron Brinkman (Dayton/East Dayton Christian) got to the rack it was 40-37. Zender's freebies with 3:52 to play made it a one-point game. When Zender cashed in twice from the stripe with 14 second left, Bluffton trailed 44-43. The Beavers needed to foul four times over the next four seconds to get Adrian to the line and it paid off with consecutive misses but Bluffton was unable to capitalize as the home team held on for a one-point victory.
Zender led the offense with 17 points on a perfect 7-of-7 from the line. Columber added 10 points for the Beavers to go along with a career-best four steals. Smith ripped down a career-high 11 rebounds.
Bluffton hit 13-of-49 from the field (26.5 percent), including 3-of-14 (21.4 percent) outside the arc. The visitors were 14-for-19 (73.7 percent) at the line. Adrian turned ot over one more time (19-18), but the Bulldogs also finished with eight more rebounds (38-30).
The Beavers are off for Christmas before a pair of games in the Sommer Center on Friday, Dec. 29, and Saturday, Dec. 30. Bluffton welcomes Muskingum on day one of the Holiday Classic and the Beavers face off with Mount Union on day two. Both games are slated for approximately 2 p.m.
-BEAVERS-