NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. - The Bluffton University women's basketball team rallied from a nine-point deficit, outscoring Manchester University 16-6 during the final quarter en route to a stunning 47-46 victory over the home Spartans on Wednesday, Jan. 31! Bluffton improved to 7-13 overall and 5-8 in the Heartland Conference, while Sparty fell to 6-14 and 3-10 in the HCAC.

Trailing Manchester 40-31 to kick off the fourth quarter, Olivia Zender (Fostoria/Hopewell-Louden) went to work with a trifecta followed by an old-fashioned three-point play which made it 40-37 just over a minute into the final stanza. A Rachel Clark (Lima/Bath) pickoff and fastbreak layup pulled the Beavers within a point (40-39) at the 8:29 mark.

The home team pushed their lead to 44-40, but Katie Neuhart (Delaware/Delaware Christian) struck gold with a pair of bunnies, knotting it up with 3:54 to play. Zender drilled a three for a 47-44 lead and then Bluffton was forced to hold on thanks to a Kendal Rider layup with 20 seconds to play and three visitor turnovers in the final minute.

Neuhart and Zender combined for all 11 Bluffton points in the opening frame as the contest was knotted at 11 apiece after one. The Beavers trailed 25-21 at the break despite seven Zender points in quarter two.

Bluffton struggled with just 10 points in the third quarter, five from Tamron Brinkman (Dayton/East Dayton Christian), as the Spartans opened a commanding 40-31 spread heading to the money stanza when the Beavers put on their rally caps!

Zender showed out with a career-high 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, including 4-of-7 from distance! She also knocked down 4-of-5 at the line and picked up three steals. Neuhart chimed in with 12 points and five rebounds while connecting on 6-of-12 field goals. Lacie Fenstermaker (Leipsic/Pandora-Gilboa) ripped down a team-high eight rebounds and swatted away two Manchester offerings. Brinkman finished with five points and five boards.

Bluffton hit just 17-of-49 (34.7 percent) from the field, including 5-for-15 (33.3 percent) from distance. The visitors pulled down eight more rebounds (31-23) and both teams coughed it up 19 times on Wednesday night.

The Bluffton women head to Franklin College on Saturday, Feb. 3, for a 2 p.m. meeting with the Grizzlies.

-BEAVERS-