Junior Kim Miller (Delphos/St. John's) sparked the Beaver offense with a drive just over a minute into the game. After another Miller layin, senior guard Vicki Auer (Cincinnati/Roger Bacon) pulled up for the jumper at the 16-minute mark to put the Beavers up, 6-5. With 11:54 on the clock, Beth Yoder (Marshallville/Smithville) connected with teammate Brittany Lewis (Springfield/Shawnee) for the first Bluffton three-pointer of the night.

 

After Terrier Alex Dellas drove to the basket to tie the score at 11, the Beavers took the lead and never looked back as senior forward Ginny Buckingham (Bluffton) grabbed the rebound of her own miss and put the ball back up for two. Seconds later, sophomore Kirstie Runion (Cincinnati/Cincinnati Christian) snatched the defensive board and raced down the court for an old-fashioned three-point play.

 

Halfway through the first period, Yoder found an open Brittany Stegmaier (Garfield/Trinity) for two more points. With 8:25 remaining in the half, Rachel Daman (Defiance/Tinora) drove to the basket to give Bluffton a five point lead, 22-17. Soon after, Auer increased the lead to eight with a shot from behind the arc.

 

With less than four minutes left in the first half, Yoder sank a trey thanks to an assist from Miller. Thirty seconds later Yoder returned the favor for a Miller deuce to put the Beavers up, 35-26. The last four points of the half came from two Buckingham layins as Bluffton led 39-33 at the half.

 

Daman ignited the second period with a jumper as well as providing the assist for Auer's second three-pointer of the contest, giving the Beavers an 11-point lead just 53 seconds into the second half. At the 16:39 mark, Miller once again connected with Buckingham for two. A Lewis hoop put Bluffton up by 11, 55-44.

 

The Terrier offense retaliated over the next seven minutes with a 9-3 rally until Buckingham broke it off with a layin at the 6:15 mark which refocused the Bluffton offense. A minute later, Lewis found Daman outside the arc for three. Daman, in turn, assisted Buckingham's layup with four and a half minutes left in the game. Just past the four-minute mark, Lewis hit from in close to put the Beavers up 67-55 over the Terriers.

 

At the 1:45 mark, Miller drove in for two, followed by two layups from Lewis. The Beavers finished their last minute going 5-for-6 at the charity stripe as Bluffton stopped Hiram, 79-67, in the 2009-10 season opener.

 

Both Kim Miller and Ginny Buckingham put together double-doubles as they led the Beavers with 18 points apiece, while grabbing 12 and 11 boards, respectively. Miller also dished out a game-high seven assists and had one block and one steal. Vicki Auer tallied 15 points, three assists, two rebounds, and two steals. Brittany Lewis matched her career-high with 13 points and she pulled down four boards. Rachel Daman added seven points for Bluffton, as well as dishing out four assists and snatching three rebounds.

 

Alex Dallas paced the Terriers with 12 points and two boards. Jess Cowan had 11 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Brittany Mayle contributed seven points, five boards, five assists, and picked up four steals while teammate Kelsey Durichko chipped in with five assists and added three steals for Hiram.

 

Bluffton made 29-of-50 (58.0 percent) from the field, thanks in large part to the inside duo of Buckingham (8-of-9) and Miller (6-of-10), compared to just 24-of-61 (39.3 percent) for Hiram. The Beavers were 15-of-26 (57.7 percent) from the charity stripe, while the Terriers hit 14-of-22 (63.6 percent). The Beavers drained one more triple than their opponents (6-5) and pulled down 38 rebounds. The home team also committed seven more turnovers than the Terriers (19-12).

 

The Bluffton University women's basketball team will host the second annual Tip-Off Tournament in Founders Hall starting on Friday, November 20, when the Beavers face Oberlin College in the nightcap. The contest is slated to tip at 8 p.m following the matchup between Wheaton and Saint Mary's College.