January 10, 2009
HANOVER, Ind. - The Beavers were knotted with Hanover midway through the second period before the Panthers used a 22-7 spurt during a 10-minute span to cinch the 79-67 victory on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009. Bluffton dropped its second straight contest after four straight wins in falling to 9-5 overall and 1-4 in the Heartland Conference. Hanover improved to 9-5 and the Panthers evened their HCAC mark at 3-3.
Following a KIM MILLER (Delphos/St. John's layup to open the game, freshman EMILY SHELLABARGER (St.Mary's/Memorial) converted a conventional three-point play for a 5-4 Bluffton lead. Shellabarger dropped in a deuce before the Panthers scored eight straight points to open a 14-7 lead with 13:32 to play in the first half.
The Beavers' offense continued to struggle as Bluffton trailed by 12 points (23-11) after TORIN FRANTZ knocked in a pair from the charity stripe at the 7:32 mark. A BRITTANY LEWIS (Springfield/Shawnee) layin turned the momentum in the visitor's favor as Bluffton cut the deficit to 25-21 thanks to six points by Lewis and a pair of Shellabarger hoops.
Shellabarger and Lewis continued to put pressure on the Panthers and when freshman BRITTANY STEGMAIER(Garfield/Trinity) hit from deep the Beavers trailed by a single point with 1:04 to play in the half. RACHEL DAMAN(Defiance/Tinora) put the Beavers up just 17 seconds later. A pair of CHELLE BENTZ makes from the foul line with four ticks left appeared to give Hanover the lead going into halftime, but Miller found Shellabarger for a bucket at the buzzer to make it 38-37 in favor of Bluffton.
The home team limited Bluffton to a VICKI AUER (Cincinnati/Roger Bacon) layup over the first 2:29 of the second half while draining three shots to make it 43-40 at the 17:31 mark of period two. Shellabarger and GINNY BUCKINGHAM (Bluffton) responded with back-to-back chip shots for a 44-43 lead just 40 seconds later.
The Hanover offense went on a nearly three-minute hiatus as Lewis, Shellabarger and Buckingham all put the biscuit in the basket to make the score 51-45 at the 14:26 mark. Torin Franz led a quick 6-0 Hanover surge that allowed the Panthers to tie the game at 51 a minute later.
LACEY HORNADAY gave the Panthers a 54-53 lead with her triple at the 11:28 mark and the home team never looked back. Hanover rattled off 10 straight points to go up 61-53 with 8:05 remaining. Buckingham then hit from in close and Lewis dialed long distance to cut the deficit to five points (63-58) before the home team used another 10-0 jag to put the game on ice. Daman buried a trifecta and Yoder canned both freebies with 26 ticks left, but it was not enough as Hanover claimed a 79-67 victory over the Beavers.
The Beavers struggled to a 23-of-63 (36.5 percent) afternoon from the field including a paltry 3-for-19 (15.8 percent) performance on triples. Hanover also struggled, going 28-of-67 (41.8 percent). Bluffton was a phenomenal 18-for-20 (90 percent) at the stripe, while the home team finished 20-of-32 (62.5 percent) on free throws. Hanover won the battle of the boards (45-41), including 20-14 on the offensive glass. The visitors coughed it up 24 times and Hanover committed 19 miscues.
Shellabarger paced Bluffton with 24 points and 11 boards for her 5th double-double of the season. Lewis came off the bench to score 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting with three rebounds and three assists. Kim Miller was the third Beaver to reach double digits, chipping in with 10 points, seven boards, four assists and five steals. Ginny Buckingham added eight points and eight rebounds.
Torin Frantz led a balanced Hanover team with 17 points. She was one of five Panthers to tally double figures in the win over Bluffton. HOLLY VOGEL chipped in 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
Bluffton returns to action on Wednesday, January 14, when the Beavers welcome Anderson University to Founders Hall. The game is set to tip at 7:30 p.m.