By: Shannon Ramer, sports information assistant
November 29, 2008
WOOSTER, Ohio - The Bluffton University women's basketball team led 70-60 with less than two minutes to play before the Beavers had to stave off a furious Wooster rally to pull out a 73-70 win over the Fighting Scots on Saturday, November 29, 2008. With the victory, Bluffton improved to 4-1 on the season, while Wooster fell to 1-2 overall. The Beavers' four wins in their first five games marks the first time since 1997-98 that Bluffton has opened play with a 4-1 start.
Junior forward GINNY BUCKINGHAM (Bluffton) started the game with a layup from EMILY SHELLABARGER (St. Mary's). Wooster's KESHIA BUTLER responded with a jumper to tie the game. VICKI AUER (Cincinnati/Roger Bacon) got to the hoop to put the Beavers back up by two.
The Scots took advantage of a Bluffton dry spell to open up a 24-14 lead midway through the first half, forcing Coach Shutler to call a timeout. Following the much needed break, the Beavers responded with a 13-0 jag that was capped by a Shellabarger hoop thanks to a nice feed from fellow freshman BETH YODER (Marshallville/Smithville).
After being fouled twice within a minute, freshman RACHEL DAMAN (Defiance/Tinora) went 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. The Beavers took a 36-30 lead to the break when Shellabarger converted a stickback as the buzzer sounded.
Daman got the Beavers started at the beginning of the second half with a layin. Bluffton managed to stay just in front of the home team until KESHIA BUTLER knotted the contest at 47 with 9:47 to play in the game. Daman responded with four straight points and Buckingham followed an Auer trifecta with a two-point bucket which made the score 58-52.
With 1:51 to play Daman knocked down a pair from the foul line to give Bluffton what seemed like a commanding 70-60 lead. However, a pair of Beaver turnovers helped Wooster put together an 8-1 run that made the score 71-68 with 29 ticks remaining
Keshia Butler cut it to two points with her deuce before Auer sealed the victory with a free throw that made the final score 73-70.
Buckingham posted her fifth career double-double with 14 points and 14 boards. Daman established a new career-high of 20 points while also grabbing five rebounds. Shellabarger had a monster game with 18 points, seven boards and five assists. Auer added 11 points for the Beavers. KIM MILLER (Delphos/St. John's) doled out five assists and hauled in seven caroms for the victors.
Kaitlin Krister paced the Scots with 26 points and 11 boards for a double-double. Butler contributed 15 points while teammate KYM WENZ added 14 points.
Bluffton hit 27-of-59 from the field (45.8 percent) and 4-of-8 at the three-point line (50 percent). The Beavers cleaned the glass to the tune of a 41-32 edge in rebounding. Bluffton spread the ball around with 21 assists in the contest.
The Beavers return to action on Wednesday, Decemeber 3, 2008, when they travel to Manchester College for the first Heartland Conference game of the season. The contest is slated to tip at 7:30 p.m.