By Ben Risinger, SID
February 21, 2004
BLUFFTON, OHIO - The Bluffton College women's basketball team (2-23, 1-13 HCAC) defeated Manchester College (4-21, 1-13 HCAC) 53-51 Saturday afternoon in Founders Hall.
The Beavers will travel to Defiance on Tuesday for the first round of the Heartland Conference tournament. Game time has yet to be determined.
With one minute left in regulation, the Beavers owned a 51-49 lead over the Spartans. A quick layup by Manchester 's Deanna Quinn tied the game, 51-51 with ten seconds on the clock. Bluffton took a timeout with ten seconds left to collect their thoughts for the final shot. Freshman Tanya Rickenberg (Defiance/Paulding) took the ball and shot a quick jumper with three seconds left, grabbed her own rebound and hit the game winning jump shot.
"They (team) deserve this. They never gave up all year long," Bluffton coach Amanda Curtis said. "This is great momentum for us going into the tournament at Defiance ."
Bluffton owned the lead for the entire game after being down 4-0 and 6-5 very early in the contest. In the first half of play the Beavers widened their lead to as much as twelve points, late in the half 28-16. The halftime score was 28-21 in favor of Bluffton. In the second half, the Spartans would make a late run, but fall short at the end.
Senior Lindsay Bacon (Troy/Troy) led Bluffton with 14 points on the day. Rickenberg threw in her third double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds and a team high five assists. The freshman started every game this season for the Beavers. Freshman Jillian Jarvis (Lima/Shawnee) posted a career high 12 rebounds. Senior Kelsey Studer (Delta/Delta) finished with nine points and six rebounds in her final home contest.
"I have to give credit to our two seniors, they have been great leaders on and off the court," Curtis said. "This was a great way to finish for their last home game. They've done a good job of keeping everyone focused and working hard."
Leading Manchester was Erica Sewell with 15 points. Deanna Quinn threw in 13 points with Mandy Freed with 11 points.
The Beavers shot 33 percent for the game, compared to Manchester 's 31 percent. The Spartans pulled down 52 rebounds to Bluffton's 41.