Posted: Dec 29, 2009
December 29, 2009
By: Josh Bruner, sports information assistant
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The Bluffton University women started slowly against Mary Hardin-Baylor, falling behind by 17 points at the half (35-18). The second period was much better for the Beavers who outscored Mary Hardin 28-19, but it was not enough to make up the deficit as Bluffton fell to the Crusaders, 54-46. The loss dropped the Beavers to 3-9, while the Crusaders jumped to 6-4 for the season.
The Beavers fell behind early as the Crusaders came out with a three-pointer by JENNY BLACKto start the game. The Beavers failed to put together any offense until the 16:25 mark when GINNY BUCKINGHAM (Bluffton) took advantage of a UMHB turnover to make the score 3-2. KIM MILLER (Delphos/St. John's) added another hoop a minute later, keeping the Beavers within one. The Crusaders responded with a shot from behind the arc to give them an 8-4 lead after six minutes of play.
Miller added her own old-fashioned three-point play to bring the Beavers back within one. The Crusaders did not slow down as they went on a 12-0 run over the next five minutes for the 20-7 lead. The Beavers finally slowed Mary Hardin-Baylor with a Miller bucket and BRITTANY STEGMAIER (Garfield/Trinity) three-pointer. With just six minutes of play left in the half, the score was 23-12 in favor of the Crusaders.
The Crusaders defense continued to impress through the last six minutes, only allowing six points, three of which came from another Stegmaier triple. The UMHB offense added 12 to give them a 17-point lead (35-18) going into the half.
The Beavers came out of the half showing they were not about to roll over. Miller opened the stanza with a conventional three-point play. The scoring continued as Bluffton pulled within three after a JENNA REYNOLDS (Logan) deep ball, making the score 35-32 with 12:39 left in the game. The Bluffton defense was outstanding during that stretch, holding the Crusaders scoreless for over seven minutes to open the period.
Six straight Mary Hardin-Baylor points pushed the advantage back out to nine points less than two minutes later. The Beavers slowly picked away at the lead, as a BECKY RUBLE (Grover Hill/Wayne Trace) layup brought the score to 42-36. The Crusaders responded with a 3-pointer by KALLIE WHITE. The teams continued to trade points until the 2:27 mark when the Crusaders pulled ahead by 11. Reynolds drained another three with just 1:34 left in the game, but it was too little, too late as UMHB finished with a 54-46 victory.
Leading the way for the Beavers was Miller who totaled 16 points, going 4-of-4 at the charity stripe, and 6-of-9 from the field. She also pulled down 10 boards for the game. Stegmaier was next for the Beavers with 10, going 3-of-8 from behind the arc. Next in the scoring column for Bluffton was Jenna Reynolds with a career-high eight markers, including 2-of-4 from distance. Reynolds added eight boards for the Beavers. Buckingham pulled in 10 caroms for the Beavers as well.
Leading the Crusaders was CAITLIN BARGANIER with 13 points. She hit 4-of-7 from the field, 3-of-5 from deep, and 2-of-2 at the line. MALLORY MCADAMS was next with nine points.
The Beavers ended the game shooting 8-of-20 (40 percent) from behind the arc, while the Crusaders only went 6-for-23 (26.1 percent). The Crusaders kept Bluffton in the contest by converting just 6-of-17 (35.3 percent) at the line, compared to 12-of-14 (85.7 percent) by the Beavers.
The Beavers will be back in action on Wednesday, January 6, at 6 p.m. in Founders Hall where they will play for the first time in over a month. Bluffton takes on HCAC foe Hanover in the first contest of a women's and men's doubleheader.
-BEAVERS-