By Bill Hanefeld Jr., sports information director
January 7, 2006

BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University women's basketball team (2-11, 0-2 HCAC) could not hold on to the first half momentum as Hanover College (7-5, 1-1) used a strong second half to pull away from the Beavers 74-57 on Saturday, January 7, 2006. The Panthers' defense forced Bluffton to commit 26 turnovers and it held the Beavers to 44 percent shooting from the field (24-54) including 2-10 from behind the three-point line.

Despite five Bluffton turnovers in the first five minutes of the game, the Beavers were able to take advantage of poor Hanover shooting to open up a nine point lead (12-3) when ASHLEIGH STALLKAMP (Paulding/Paulding) slashed to the basket at the 14 minute mark. A KYM BYRDWELL layup capped a 7-2 Hanover rally before the Beavers rolled off seven consecutive points of their own, including a pair of baskets from senior KARIN SCHALLER (Jenera/Arlington), to push the advantage back to 12 (22-10) with eight and a half minutes to play in the first half. The teams traded scores until the final minutes of the first stanza when the Panthers went on a 7-1 run to cut the Beavers' advantage to 36-32 at the break.

Hanover stormed out of the locker rooms and picked up where they left off, outscoring the Beavers 17-2 during the first six minutes of the second half to open up an 11 point advantage (49-38) while forcing Bluffton to call two timeouts. Freshman LAUREN FISHER (Cincinnati/Turpin) finally slowed the Panther momentum when she knocked down a jumper at the 12 minute mark of the second half. ANGIE LEE (Mt. Blanchard/Vanlue) cut the Panther advantage to eight when she found the hoop with nine minutes to play, but Hanover countered with an 11-2 run to push its lead back to 17 points (65-48) less than three minutes later. Stallkamp closed the margin to 13 points with five minutes to play when she hit from in the paint but that was as close as the Beavers would get. An ERIN COLLIER layup with 30 seconds to play concluded the game's scoring as she put the Panthers up 74-57 helping Hanover even its HCAC record with the victory.

LINDSAY BUSH (Howard/East Knox) posted her second consecutive double-double, 14 points and 11 rebounds. Stallkamp led the Beavers with 17 points which moved her past 500 points for her career as she has scored 517 points during her first two years at Bluffton. Lee came off the bench to score 10 points and dish out four assists for the Beavers. TANYA RICKENBERG(Paulding/Paulding) hauled in six boards.

Bluffton returns to action on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 when it travels to Franklin College. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.