By: Takayla Gadberry, sports information assistant
BLUFFTON, Ohio – The Bluffton University women's basketball team dropped a 71-62 decision to Hanover on Saturday, Jan. 27. The Beavers slipped to 6-13 (4-8 HCAC) while the Panthers improved to 13-6 and 11-1 in the HCAC.
It was a slow start on Saturday with just a Lindsey Smith (Mount Victory/Kenton) layup and two freebies by Olivia Zender (Fostoria/Hopewell Loudon) to give the Beavers a 4-0 lead five minutes in. A quick offensive spurt for the Panthers tied it at six before they would go on a 9-5 run to take a 15-11 lead at the end of the first stanza.
An offensive struggle for Bluffton led to Hanover taking an 18-11 spread before Kayla Prigge (Hamler/Patrick Henry) drained a shot which trimmed the deficit to five (18-13). Seven unanswered points for the Panthers saw them increase their lead to 12 (25-13), with 5:19 to play in the half. A trifecta and freebie by Rachel Clark (Lima/Bath) followed by a jumper for Smith had the Beavers trailing by eight (27-19), but a 7-4 run for the visitors allowed them to open a 34-23 lead going into the half.
The Bluffton offense continued to struggle as an 11-4 spurt for Hanover pushed their lead to 45-27. A Prigge three and layup for Zender pulled the Beavers within 11 (50-39).
A deuce for Lacie Fenstermaker (Leipsic/Pandora-Gilboa) and another from Zender had Bluffton within seven (53-46) early in the fourth. Another Fenstermaker jumper and two freebies made it 55-50 with 5:51 in regulation. Despite an offensive push by the Beavers to end the fourth, a 16-12 run by the Panthers secured their 71-62 victory.
Prigge led the Beavers with 16 points, including a pair of triples. Fenstermaker and Clark chimed in with 14 and 10 counters, respectively. Zender tallied eight markers to go along with a team-high four assists. Neuhart, Smith and Tamron Brinkman (Dayton/East Dayton Christian) all ripped down six rebounds on Saturday, while Fenstermaker picked up three steals.
Bluffton pulled down 10 more rebounds (44-34) and Hanover turned it over four more times (15-11). The Beavers struggled to a 23-of-73 (31.5 percent) afternoon at the field, with only 3-of-12 makes (25 percent) outside the arc. The home team hit 13-for-17 (76.5 percent) at the charity stripe.
The Bluffton women will travel to North Manchester, Ind., for a 7 p.m. matchup with the Manchester University Spartans on Wednesday, Jan. 31.
-BEAVERS-
