Posted: Jan 06, 2010
January 6, 2010
By: Brandy Bidlack, sports information assistant
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University women started quickly against Heartland Conference rival Hanover, but the Beavers failed to parlay their early momentum into a victory as the Panthers defeated Bluffton, 62-58, in Founders Hall on Wednesday, January 6, 2010. The Bluffton women fell to 3-10 this season with a 0-5 mark in the HCAC. Hanover improved to 3-2 in the conference and 9-4 overall.
Senior forward GINNY BUCKINGHAM (Bluffton) sparked the Bluffton offense with an easy deuce just seven seconds into the game. Less than a minute later, junior KIM MILLER(Delphos/St. John's) found an open BRITTANY STEGMAIER (Garfield/Trinity) behind the arc for a trey. The Beavers kept rolling with a Buckingham three-pointer thanks to the assist from Miller.
At the 14:26 mark, senior guard VICKI AUER (Cincinnati/Roger Bacon) drove to the hoop to put the Beavers up by 10 points. Two minutes later Stegmaier grabbed the defensive board and connected with KATIE LORD (Toledo/Whitmer) for three, giving the Bluffton women their largest lead of the night, 20-6.
The Beavers held their lead for the next 10 minutes until a pair of Panther free throws by HOLLY VOGEL put Hanover on top by one with 2:26 remaining in the half. Miller knocked down a jumper a minute later, but Vogel drove to basket to give the Panthers a 34-33 edge at halftime.
Two minutes into the second half, two Buckingham freebies pulled Bluffton within one but Hanover quickly re-established its lead. With 15 minutes remaining, Buckingham came up with the steal and passed to Auer who dished the rock to Stegmaier for another triple.
With 23 seconds left in the contest, Miller found BETH YODER (Marshallville/Smithville) for her third deep ball of the night, but Hanover was too much for Bluffton as the Panthers held on for a 62-58 victory.
Leading the Beavers was Buckingham, marking her 13th career double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Miller finished with 12 points and six boards, as well as handing out seven assists and picking up three steals in the contest. Stegmaier chipped in 12 points, pulled down six rebounds, had four assists and two steals. All nine of Yoder's points came from three triples.
Pacing the Panthers was Vogel who picked up a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. TORIN FRANZ added 13 points for Hanover while teammate ABBEY SCHMAHL dished out eight assists. CHELLE BENTZ grabbed 11 boards and swatted away four Bluffton shots.
The Beavers ended the game 5-of-6 (83.3 percent) from the charity stripe, while the Panthers went 14-of-27 (51.9 percent) thanks to a lopsided foul disparity (21-12). Both teams made 22 shots from the field, including five more treys for Bluffton (9-4). Hanover raked in nine more rebounds (45-36), while the home team turned it over four more times than the Panthers (21-17).
The Bluffton women will return to action on Saturday, January 9, when the Beavers travel to face conference rival Rose-Hulman. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m.
-BEAVERS-