By Bill Hanefeld Jr., sports information director
January 18, 2006
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University women's basketball team (2-14, 0-5 HCAC) dropped a heartbreaker to the Mt. St. Joseph Lions (6-10, 3-2) by a final score of 64-63 on Wednesday, January 18, 2006. The Beavers had their chances in the final seconds but a 20-67 shooting night (30 percent) kept them from picking up their first conference victory of the season.
Two early Bluffton turnovers helped the Lions jump out to a 4-0 lead less than two minutes into the game. Junior guard TANYA RICKENBERG (Paulding/Paulding) capped a 7-0 run when she hit a layup putting the Beavers up 7-4 at the 16 minute mark. Following an 8-2 Lion spurt AMANDA BELL drained a triple to help the Beavers knot the contest at 12 with 13:14 remaining in the first half. Although the Mount jetted out to another six-point advantage midway through the half, Bluffton answered with a jumper from KARIN SCHALLER (Jenera/Arlington) and a long range trifecta from ANGIE LEE (Mt. Blanchard/Vanlue), who finished with a career-high 22 points, to tie the contest at 24. The two teams combined for eight turnovers during a four minute scoreless stretch that ended when Lee hit from the charity stripe to cut the deficit to two (27-25) with four minutes left in the half. Lee put the Beavers back on top 31-30 at the 3:04 mark when she converted on a three-point play the old fashioned way. Another pair of turnovers led to a 6-0 Lion run which gave the Mount a 36-31 lead with just under two minutes to play in the opening stanza. The Beavers converted on four shots from the charity stripe during the final 1:30 of the half to cut the margin to three (38-35) at the break.
A quick MARIA EICHHOLD layup pushed the Lions' lead to five with 19:51 to play in the game. The Beavers were within three points (43-40) with 15:17 to play before their shooting went south. They did not find the hoop again until Bell freed herself in the paint at the 9:17 mark, a six-minute dry spell. Because the Lions also struggled mightily during that stretch, the Beavers found themselves down by only five following the Bell layup. A SHANIKA LOGAN jumper with 7:11 to play gave the Mount its largest lead of the game, 54-44, before the Beavers retaliated with 11 consecutive points, including a triple and a pair of layups from sophomore ASHLEIGH STALLKAMP (Paulding/Paulding), to turn the 10-point deficit into a one-point advantage with four and a half minutes left in the contest. A pair of LINDSAY BUSH (Howard/East Knox) free throws kept the Beavers in command, 62-60, with just over a minute to play. Missed shots and three Bluffton fouls during the final minute of action sent the Lions to the charity stripe six times where they converted four of their attempts to take a 64-62 lead with eight seconds on the clock. A Bell free throw pulled the Beavers to within one but Bluffton could not get its putbacks to fall as the Lions escaped with a 64-63 victory.
Lee led the Beavers with a career-high 22 points, including 8-10 from the charity stripe, and she also dished out three assists. Stallkamp, who hauled in seven boards and recorded four steals, and Bell both finished with 13 points. Bush ended the night with eight rebounds and Schaller tallied seven boards for the Beavers.
Bluffton returns to action on Saturday, January 21, 2006 when it hosts HCAC foe Anderson University. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.