By Scott Van Eman, SID Assistant
February 24, 2004

DEFIANCE, OHIO - The Bluffton College women's basketball team (2-24, 1-13 HCAC) were defeated by Defiance College (20-6, 12-5 HCAC) 99-47 on Tuesday night in the first round of the Heartland Conference tournament. The loss concluded the Beavers 2003-04 season.

The Beavers fell to an early deficit trailing Defiance 18-0 before freshman Tanya Rickenberg put Bluffton on the scoreboard with two made foul shots at the 14:34 mark. Defiance would hold tight to their 18 point lead for much of the first half before streaking in the later minutes and expanding the gap to a 51-20 halftime score.

Bluffton surged offensively in the second half posting nearly as many points as they scored in the entire first half in just the first 10 minutes of the second half. Despite Bluffton's efforts, Defiance would not be denied scoring 48 second half points for a final score of 99-47.

Freshman Tanya Rickenberg (Defiance/Paulding) led the way for Bluffton scoring 25 points on 8-for-19 shooting from the field. Seniors Lindsay Bacon (Troy/Troy) and Kelsey Studer (Delta/Delta) each posted eight points in their final game for Bluffton. Studer also led the Beavers in rebounds on the night with seven.  

Defiance posted four players in double-digits; Anna Fretz with 28, Meghann Savard with 22, Jessica Mast with 11, and Sarah Kuhn with 10.

The Beavers shot 29 percent for the game compared to the Yellow Jackets 47 percent. Bluffton was also edged out on the glass recording 33 rebounds to Defiance's 61.