November 21, 2006
OBERLIN, Ohio - The Bluffton University women's basketball team built a nine-point lead over Oberlin College, but the Beavers could not seal the deal as the Yeowomen finished with a 33-16 run to secure the 76-68 victory on Tuesday, November 21, 2006. With the loss, Bluffton falls to 0-3 while Oberlin improves to 2-1.
Despite a pair of Lindsay Bush (Howard/East Knox) buckets in the early going, Bluffton found itself down, 11-5, with 15:48 to play in the opening half. The Beavers responded with 12 consecutive points, including six from Ginny Buckingham (Bluffton/Bluffton), to take a 17-11 lead over the Yeowomen at the 7:53 mark.
The Beavers continued to control the action as Bluffton buried seven free throws over the next five minutes to maintain its six-point advantage, 26-20, with just over two minutes to play in the half.
The Yeowomen hit back-to-back baskets before Tanya Rickenberg (Paulding/Paulding) found the hoop with nine seconds left to give the Beavers a four-point lead, 28-24, at the half.
Two Roneisha Kinney foul shots with 15:45 to play in the second half cut the Beavers' advantage to one point, but a Lindsay Bush layup and five Angie Lee (Vanlue/Vanlue) points pushed the lead back to six points less than two minutes later.
Freshman guard Vicki Auer (Cincinnati/Roger Bacon) buried a triple and knocked down a jumper to give Bluffton its biggest lead in the game, 50-41, with less than 10 minutes to play.
The Beavers were still up by eight points, 58-50, following an Angie Lee three-pointer at the seven-minute mark, when the wheels fell off.
Bluffton went cold while Oberlin found its stroke from the field and the charity stripe. The Yeowomen rattled off eight straight points before Rickenberg slowed the onslaught with a layup.
An Alyssa Clark layup put the Yeowomen up, 70-64, and effectively sealed the victory for Oberlin. Forced to foul, the Beavers sent the Yeowomen to the foul line ten times over the final minute as Bluffton dropped its third straight contest, 76-68.
Freshman Ginny Buckingham posted her second consecutive double-double as she finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Juniors Lindsay Bush, 8-of-14 from the field, and Angie Lee both dropped in double digits with 17 and 15 points respectively. Freshman Vicki Auer and senior Tanya Rickenberg finished with eight points each. Rickenberg also led the Beavers with six assists. Amanda Bell (Napoleon/Liberty Center) wreaked havoc on the defensive end, picking up six steals, six rebounds and dishing out four assists.
The Beavers outboarded Oberlin, 41-36, but they turned the ball over 22 times and shot only 40 percent from the field (25-of-62). Yeowomen senior Jessica Oram, who led all scorers with 24 points, went over the 1,000 point plateau for her career.
Bluffton returns to action on Saturday, November 25, when it welcomes Ohio Athletic Conference member Muskingum College to Founders Hall. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
-BEAVERS-