December 19, 2006
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University women's basketball team rode career-high scoring performances from VICKI AUER(Cincinnati/Roger Bacon) and LINDSAY BUSH (Howard/East Knox) to its first victory of the season, 83-80, over visiting Marygrove College on Tuesday, December 19, 2006. The Beavers improved to 1-9 on the year while Marygrove fell to 6-8.
The contest started slowly as TANYA RICKENBERG (Paulding/Paulding) scored the first hoop of the game with over two minutes elapsed off the clock. An Auer three-pointer gave Bluffton a 5-2 lead with 17:18 to play in the first half.
Lindsay Bush and AMANDA BELL (Napoleon/Liberty Center) combined for the Beavers' next 10 points putting Bluffton up, 15-8, at the 13:32 mark.
Marygrove standout SHANAYE DAVIS, who led the Mustangs with 26 points, knocked down 12 straight points for her team, keeping the Beavers from pulling away during the middle of the opening stanza. Following a pair of AMANDA DEGAIN buckets, Marygrove had trimmed the Bluffton advantage to only three points, 33-30, with three minutes to play in the half.
Consecutive layins by Bush pushed the lead back up to seven points before Shanaye Davis closed the gap to five with her jumper just before the break.
Bluffton maintained its five-point lead following a Lindsay Bush score at the 17:41 mark of the second half before the Mustangs went on a 13-2 run thanks to four Beaver turnovers during the next four minutes. A KARMEN BYRD jumper put Marygrove on top, 51-45, with 14:33 to play forcing the Beavers to call a timeout.
A pair of Shanaye Davis freebies made the score 54-49 in favor of the visitors from Michigan.
Bluffton, displaying a sense of urgency and willpower, turned the game around with a 16-3 jag which included 10 points and two triples from junior ANGIE LEE (Mt. Blanchard/Vanlue) as the Beavers opened up an eight-point cushion, 70-62, with seven minutes to play.
Rickenberg and Lee combined for four straight makes from the charity stripe to put the Beavers on top by nine points with less than five minutes on the clock.
The Beavers were still up by eight points, 81-73, at the one-minute mark, but Marygrove did not go away quietly. The Mustang pressure forced two turnovers and a Byrd layup cut the Bluffton lead to one basket, 82-80, with four ticks left.
Auer hit one charity toss and when Amanda DeGain's last second triple just missed the mark, the Beavers owned their first victory of the season, an 83-80 win over Marygrove College.
Despite being outrebounded on the offensive glass 24-17 and turning the ball over 29 times, the Beavers picked up their first win by making 32-of-63 from the field for 51 percent. Bluffton dished out 29 assists and hit 15-of-21 from the line for 71 percent.
Junior Lindsay Bush notched her fifth career double-double with a career-high 26 points and 14 rebounds, only one off her all-time best. Tanya Rickenberg's 15 points leaves her only six points from surpassing Paula Slaughter for second on the all-time scoring list at Bluffton. Freshman Vicki Auer also set a pair of new career-highs with 15 points and five assists. Angie Lee was the fourth Beaver in double-digits, tallying 15 points and four assists. Amanda Bell made her presence felt at both ends of the floor, dishing out a game-high seven assists and picking up four steals while hitting four of her six shot attempts for eight points.
Bluffton returns to action on Thursday, December 21, when it travels to face the Quakers of Earlham. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. in Richmond, Indiana.