December 17, 2007
PEPPER PIKE, Ohio - The Bluffton University women's basketball team took advantage of a 12-of-16 shooting performance at the charity stripe in overtime to pull away from Ursuline College on Monday, December 17, 2007. The Beavers overcame a four-point halftime deficit en route to their 81-74 overtime victory over the Arrows. Bluffton equaled its win total from a year ago as the Beavers improved to 6-4 on the season while Ursuline fell to 5-7 overall.
A pair of free throws by DIONA GRAHAM with 14:10 to play in the first half gave Ursuline a double-digit lead, 17-6, before senior post LINDSAY BUSH (Howard/East Knox) knocked down a jumper on the Beavers' ensuing possession.
Sophomore VICKI AUER (Cincinnati/Roger Bacon) drained a triple and ANGIE LEE (Mt. Blanchard/Vanlue) hit the front end of a pair of free throws to make it a seven-point game with 12:20 to play in the opening period. JESSICA WOOD answered with a hoop from outside the arc, but sophomore LINDSAY EBBESKOTTE (Delphos/Jefferson) cut the deficit to nine points when she drilled a long-range trifecta at the 11-minute mark.
With 1:49 to play in the first half, freshman KIM MILLER (Delphos/St. John's) followed a KATIE LORD (Toledo/Whitmer) basket with a deuce of her own to cut the Arrows' lead to four points, 31-27. Lord knocked down a jumper with 21 seconds to play in the half, again cutting the deficit to four points at the break.
Ursuline went back to work early in the second half, pushing its advantage up to a dozen points on the strength of back-to-back WHITNEY BLACKBURN treys.
Auer picked up a steal and got to the rack, making it an eight-point Arrows lead before Amanda Bell took it away from Ursuline and found Ebbeskotte for a score at the 14:05 mark.
The home team continued to control the action as the Arrows still led by 10 points, 54-44, with 9:24 to play in the second half.
Miller sank a pair of free throws and Angie Lee hit from beyond the arc to cut the deficit in half less than two minutes later. Another Lee jumper made it a four-point game before five straight Ursuline points made the score 60-51 with 3:29 to play in the second stanza.
Following a GINNY BUCKINGHAM (Bluffton/Bluffton) free throw, Miller got the hoop and harm for an old-fashioned three-point play which cut the Arrows' advantage to just two points with 49 seconds to play. Blackburn made a pair of freebies, but Lee dropped in a long-range triple with 11 seconds on the clock to make the score 65-64 in favor of Ursuline.
The Beavers were forced to foul and ANGIE CIARROCHI hit 1-of-2 for a two-point lead with eight seconds to play before Kim Miller sent the game to overtime with her buzzer-beater.
Bluffton opened the extra session with five straight makes from the foul line before DIOLANI OSHIMA hit a three-pointer with 2:54 on the clock. Auer responded with her second triple of the night and Bluffton's only basket in overtime for a five-point lead. The Beavers converted on 7-of-8 tries from the charity stripe during the final 1:11 of the contest for an 81-74 victory over the Arrows.
Auer and Lee paced the Beavers with 16 points each. Miller was 5-of-7 from the field and 5-for-5 at the line for 15 points and she tied for team-high honors with nine rebounds. Buckingham narrowly missed a double-double, dropping in 10 points and pulling down nine boards. Bell picked up a game-high five steals and dished out four steals in the victory.
Blackburn led five Arrows in double digits with 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Wood chipped in with 12 points while KIERRA TURNER, KAYLA KRZYNOWEK, and Graham added 10 points each.
Bluffton hit only 10-of-27 (37 percent) from the field in the first half, but it buried 14-for-26 (53.8 percent) in the second stanza to send the game to an extra period. The Beavers finished with a 37-to-32 edge on the boards, but it was a 26-for-37 (70.3 percent) night at the foul line that proved to be the difference as Ursuline hit only 14-of-23 (60.9 percent) freebies.
The Beavers return to action on Friday, December 21, when they host Heidelberg College in Founders Hall. The contest is slated to tip at 7 p.m.
-BEAVERS-