December 28, 2009
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The Bluffton University women's basketball team fell behind 11-0 in the first 2:36 of the game and turned the ball over 23 times as #10 Trinity University-Texas improved to 7-1 on the season with an 84-67 win over the Beavers. Bluffton fell to 3-8 overall with its seventh straight setback.
Trinity found the basket five straight times to start the game, opening up a quick 11-0 lead thanks to a pair of miscues and two missed shots by the visitors. Senior GINNY BUCKINGHAM (Bluffton) broke the ice at the 16:24 mark following an assist from sophomore BRITTANY STEGMAIER (Garfield/Trinity). Just over a minute later, BECKY RUBLE (Grover Hill/Wayne Trace) drained a three to make the score 14-5.
The Tigers continued their offensive assault, opening up a commanding 27-10 advantage with 11:14 in the half following a LAUREN HICKEY triple. Consecutive threes by BETH YODER(Marshalville/Smithville) and freshman JENNA REYNOLDS (Logan) made it an 11-point game before eight straight points from KIM MILLER (Delphos/St. John's) pulled the Beavers within seven at the 5:44 mark.
A Stegmaier deuce made the score 31-26, but a pair of Trinity threes pushed the lead back to 11 points with 4:28 on the clock. Stegmaier and Ruble both answered from deep, cutting the deficit back to five, only to see the home team counter with a pair of hoops. Ruble's trifecta at the buzzer kept Bluffton within striking distance (41-35) going into the break.
Following a Stegmaier make from distance early in the second period, Trinity took advantage of seven Bluffton turnovers during the next seven minutes to push the Tigers' lead to 58-40 with 12:47 to play in the game. A conventional three-point play by sophomore RACHEL DAMAN(Defiance/Tinora) gave Bluffton hope (60-47), however, the home team responded with eight straight points to put the game out of reach just one minute later.
Bluffton trimmed the Trinity lead to 15 points (79-64) with a MANDI LEEMASTER(Fremont/Old Fort) bucket from distance, but the Tigers converted five free throws down the stretch for an 84-67 victory over the Beavers.
Kim Miller just missed out on her seventh career double-double, pacing the Beavers with 17 points and nine rebounds. She was 5-of-8 from the field and 7-for-9 at the stripe with four assists and one block. Ruble hit 3-of-5 from deep for nine points and Stegmaier chipped in with eight markers. VICKI AUER (Cincinnati/Roger Bacon) picked up a team-high three steals.
Bluffton finished the game 21-of-55 (38.2 percent) from the field, compared to 27-of-62 (43.5 percent) by the Tigers. The Beavers won the war on the glass (39-34), but they coughed it up 11 more times (23-12) than Trinity. The visitors made four more triples than the Tigers (9-5). ABBY DIETERT led four Tigers in double figures with 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field.
Bluffton jumps right back into action on Tuesday, December 29, when the Beavers take on Mary Hardin-Baylor at the Trinity-Texas Challenge. The contest is slated to start at 6 PM Central Time.
-BEAVERS-