January 3, 2007
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Bluffton University women's basketball team struggled from the field in its 79-63 loss at Transylvania on Wednesday, January 3, 2007. The Beavers hit just 22-of-60 shots (37 percent) and fell to 2-11, 0-4 in the HCAC, while the Pioneers improved to 9-4, 3-1 in the Heartland Conference.
LINDSAY BUSH (Howard/East Knox), who narrowly missed a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds, put the Beavers on the scoreboard first, just 14 seconds into the contest. She freed herself again at the 16:05 mark, following a TANYA RICKENBERG (Paulding/Paulding) jumper and a LINDSAY EBBESKOTTE (Delphos/Jefferson) trifecta, to give Bluffton a 9-6 advantage early in the first half.
JULIE LEACH boarded a KATIE SHUFFET miss from the charity stripe and put the Pioneers on top 10-9 before ANGIE LEE(Mt. Blanchard/Vanlue) answered with a bucket to give the Beavers a one-point lead.
Transylvania tightened its grip on the defensive end and held Bluffton to four Lindsay Bush points over the next seven minutes while building a 26-15 lead at the eight-minute mark.
Bluffton's Angie Lee and AMANDA BELL (Napoleon/Liberty Center) both hit from long distance to slow Transylvania, but a six-point run during the last three minutes of the first half pushed Transy's lead to 12 points, 39-27, at the break.
Lee hit from outside the arc following a Rickenberg jumper to pull Bluffton to within nine points, however, a 7-0 Pioneer run, capped by a RACHEL WILSON three-pointer, helped Transylvania open up a 50-34 lead less than five minutes into the second half.
Freshman VICKI AUER (Cincinnati/Roger Bacon) dialed from long distance to keep the Beavers within striking distance before Transylvania put the game on ice with a 10-0 jag over a four-minute span midway through the final stanza.
Ebbeskotte tallied six points and fellow freshman STEPHANIE JANKOV (Wooster/Wooster) hit a pair from the line down the stretch but it was not enough as Transylvania picked up the 79-63 victory over the visiting Beavers.
Lindsay Bush led the Beavers with 18 points and nine rebounds on 8-of-15 shooting from the field. Angie Lee also hit for double digits with 16 points, including 2-of-6 from long distance. Lindsay Ebbeskotte finished with nine points while hitting 2-of-5 on triples. Amanda Bell pulled down seven rebounds and dished out three assists.
The Beavers return to action on Saturday, January 7, 2007, when they host Anderson University. Tip-off in Founders Hall is scheduled for 3 p.m.
-BEAVERS-