By: Brandy Bidlack, sports information assistant
January 23, 2008
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University women's basketball team triumphed over the College of Wooster, despite a scoreless first five minutes of play, by a final score of 60-42 on Wednesday, January 23, 2008. With the win, Bluffton improves to 7-10 overall. The Beavers' seven victories are the most by a Bluffton women's basketball team since the 2000-01 squad finished the season with a 12-14 mark. The Fighting Scots dropped to 5-10 on the season.
The first half started slowly with neither team finding the scoreboard in the first five minutes of play. Freshman KIM MILLER(Delphos/St. John's) gave Bluffton its first points with a pair of free throws at the 14:25 mark. LINDSAY EBBESKOTTE(Delphos/Jefferson) and VICKI AUER (Cincinnati/Roger Bacon) each hit from distance to push the Beavers' lead to 10-0 at the 12:31 mark.
Senior LINDSAY BUSH (Howard/East Knox) pulled down an offensive rebound and added two more points for Bluffton. After coming away with a steal, GINNY BUCKINGHAM (Bluffton/Bluffton) got the hoop and harm for an old-fashioned three-point play with less than nine minutes to play in the first half.
A jumper by Miller, thanks to a dish from ANGIE LEE (Mt. Blanchard/Vanlue), and a layin from Ebbeskotte gave the Beavers a 21-point lead. Buckingham grabbed an offensive board and put it back up and in to give Bluffton a commanding 31-11 lead at the break.
Vicki Auer and Angie Lee sparked the Bluffton offense early in the second half with one trey apiece. Auer hit another triple following a feed from AMANDA BELL (Napoleon/Liberty Center), and a layup from Bush put the Beavers up by 18 points, 46-28. A drive and score by Lee increased the lead to 19 with 5:37 remaining on the clock.
Ebbeskotte dropped in five straight points for Bluffton, including a pair of chip shots. A driving bucket by freshman AMANDA HOCTOR (Hamilton/Badin) and a jumper by sophomore STEPHANIE JANKOV (Wooster/Wooster) sealed the 60-42 victory for the Beavers. Freshman TIFFANI PENCE (Jackson Center/Jackson Center) ripped down a pair of defensive boards in the final 22 seconds for the victors.
Ginny Buckingham led the Beavers with 11 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Lindsay Bush had three blocks, 10 points, three assists and four boards. Lindsay Ebbeskotte and Vicki Auer finished with 10 and nine points, respectively, while Auer drilled three treys for the night. Angie Lee chipped in with eight points, and Kim Miller pulled down 12 rebounds to equal her career-high.
The Scots were paced by KAITLIN KRISTER, who had 13 points and snatched 10 boards. MEREDITH WILSON and TAYLOR KEEGAN added 11 and 10 points, respectively. HANNAH KERKIAN-WINTON swatted away three Bluffton shots in the loss.
Bluffton hit 23-of-57 (40.4 percent) from the field, while Wooster went 15-of-48 (31.3 percent). The Beavers grabbed five more rebounds than the Scots, 41-36. Bluffton shot 56.3 percent (9-for-16) from behind the charity stripe, compared to 60.0 percent (9-of-15) for Wooster. The Beavers hit five three-pointers for the night, two more than the Scots. The two teams combined to commit 52 turnovers, 28 by the Fighting Scots and 24 for the home team.
The Beavers will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 26, when they host HCAC rival Rose-Hulman in the first game of a Hall of Fame doubleheader. Tip-off for the Bluffton University women's basketball team is slated for 1 p.m. and the men's basketball contest is scheduled to start at 3 p.m.
-BEAVERS-