LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Bluffton University women's basketball team fell to #2 Transylvania 73-50 on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. Transy improved to 22-0 overall and 15-0 in the Heartland Conference, while Bluffton stands 7-15 and 5-10 in the HCAC.
A Maddie Fitzpatrick (Mount Gilead) triple knotted the game at 3-3 less than a minute in, but Bluffton managed just a Lacie Fenstermaker (Leipsoc/Pandora-Gilboa) deuce the rest of the quarter as Transylvania opened a comfortable 23-5 lead at the end of period one. The visitors turned it over a whopping 10 times and compounded their struggles with a 2-of-10 effort from the field in the first frame.
Sophomore Katie Neuhart (Delaware/Delaware Christian) got it going in the second stanza, scoring eight points, while Fitzpatrick chipped in with four counters as Bluffton trailed 41-19 at the break.
Neuhart scored four quick ones to open the second half as Bluffton pulled within 43-24 at the 8:33 mark. The Beaver offense continued to heat up when Olivia Zender (Fostoria/Hopewell Louden) dialed long distance. Rachel Clark (Lima/Bath) followed with a long deuce and Fitzpatrick nailed a pair of technical free throws as Bluffton cut the deficit to 16 (49-33) midway through the third period.
Fenstermaker got to the cup and Neuhart followed with a pair of freebies, trimming the Transy lead to a dozen points (49-37) at the 3:31 mark. Lindsey Smith (Mount Victory/Kenton) dropped a deuce and Clark launched a three just before the buzzer, making it 55-42 going to the final stanza.
Back-to-back Sadie Wurth trifectas pushed the Transy spread to 61-42 a minute into the fourth quarter. Four straight Neuhart counters and a Fenstermaker chip shot made it 63-48 midway through the period. Bluffton then went cold while Transy scored eight straight before Neuhart stopped the spurt with 1:47 to play. Both squads emptied their benches following the Neuhart bucket and Transylvania finished off its 55th straight win with a 73-50 victory on Wednesday night.
Neuhart hit 8-of-20 from the field while going a perfect 6-of-6 at the stripe for a team-high 22 points and eight boards. Fitzpatrick chipped in with nine counters. Fenstermaker added eight markers and seven rebounds.
Bluffton hit just 17-of-57 from the field for 29.8 percent, including 3-of-10 (30 percent) outside the arc. The Beavers were 13-of-14 at the line (92.9 percent), while Transy knocked down all 14 of its freebies. Bluffton pulled down one more rebound (37-36), but the visitors also turned it over 10 more times (17-7), leading to 20 Transy points off miscues.
The Bluffton women host Anderson University on Saturday, Feb. 10, at 4 p.m. following the men's 2 p.m. matchup with the Ravens.
-BEAVERS-