By: Shannon Ramer, sports information assistant
November 18, 2006
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University women's basketball team fell to Ursuline College on Saturday, November 18, in Founders Hall by a final score of 73-63. With the loss, the Beavers fell to 0-2 overall, while Ursuline improved to 3-1. Bluffton pulled down 46 rebounds while Ursuline grabbed 29 boards, including eight on the offensive end. The Arrows hit 14 free throws and the Beavers nailed 20 in the contest.
Ursuline opened the game with two three-pointers, one by Jessica Wood and the other by Katie McCray, to take an early six-point lead. Junior Lindsay Bush (Howard/East Knox) found the hoop to put Bluffton on the board two minutes into the contest. Wood drained one of her seven baskets in the game to give Ursuline an eight-point lead, 23-15, at the 4:53 mark. Junior Amanda Bell (Napoleon/Liberty-Center) nailed a three-pointer as the Beavers worked to narrow the deficit. The last two minutes of the first half proved to be a defensive struggle for Bluffton, until Ginny Buckingham (Bluffton/Bluffton) ended the scoring drought when she connected with 23 ticks to play. The Arrows battled hard, nailing one last layup. Ursuline took a fourteen-point lead, 36-22, to the break.
Bluffton got off to a rough start but continued to battle and did not give up as two Buckingham free throws and a Bush basket brought the Beavers to within eleven points, 40-29, with 15:17 remaining. Bluffton turned up the effort defensively and connected on key shots as a Lindsay Bush layup made it 47-36 in favor of the visitors. Angie Lee's (Mt. Blanchard/Vanlue) free throws cut the Arrows' advantage to seven points with 8:57 left. The Beavers played tough defense to keep the game close until Vannessa Dickson hit consecutive shots, giving the Arrows a 16-point lead with 3:30 remaining. Buckingham converted with 23 seconds left, cutting the Ursuline margin to 10 points. The Arrows held on for a 73-63 victory over Bluffton in Founders.
Bush led the way for the Beavers with a career-high 20 points. The junior also grabbed nine rebounds and tallied three blocks. Freshman Ginny Buckingham, who finished with her first career double-double in only her second game as a Beaver, posted 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Angie Lee dished out a team-high five assists. Senior point guard Tanya Rickenberg (Paulding/Paulding) scored 11 points and pulled down eight rebounds in the loss to the Arrows.
Bluffton returns to action on Tuesday, November 21, when it travels to Oberlin College. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
-BEAVERS-