Senior GINNY BUCKINGHAM (Bluffton) sparked the Beaver offense with a pair of hoops to tie the score at four just 80 seconds into the game. During the next five minutes, the Lions roared with a 6-0 rally before KATIE LORD (Toledo/Whitmer) tipped in a missed Bluffton shot at the 13:20 mark.

 

Mt. St. Joseph continued their offensive with a layin from GINA GONZALES to give the Lions a double-digit edge, 21-10. VICKI AUER (Cincinnati/Roger Bacon) picked up a steal and drove to the hoop for two, cutting the deficit to nine, but the Lions dominated the rest of the first half with Mt. St. Joseph taking a commanding 41-22 lead over Bluffton, much like MSJ did in Founders earlier this season.

 

Not ready to go down without a fight, sophomore BECKY RUBLE (Grover Hill/Wayne Trace) sank her first triple of the night to open the second half scoring. At the 17:20 mark, KIM MILLER (Delphos/St. John's) converted an old-fashioned three-point play. With just over 15 minutes left, Ruble once again hit from behind the arc to cut the Lions' margin to just nine points.

 

Less than two minutes later, a pair of Miller free throws and another trifecta from Ruble pulled the Beavers within four. At the 11:47 mark, Ruble drained her fifth three-pointer in a span of less than nine minutes to cut the deficit to two, 48-46. With less than a minute on the clock, Buckingham drove to the basket twice to put Bluffton up by two. A layup from Lion BRITTANY SPARKS tied the score at 62-62 with just seconds remaining.

 

Seventeen seconds into overtime, freshman JENNA REYNOLDS (Logan) went 2-for-2 at the charity stripe. A few possessions later, Gonzales tied the game for the final time with a layin. At the 1:12 mark, Reynolds came away with a Lion turnover and found an open Ruble in the lane for a 70-68 Bluffton lead.

 

ALICIA AMIS (Woodstock/Mechanicsburg) drove to the hoop for two with 30 seconds left before a pair of freebies from both Buckingham and Ruble elevated the Beavers to a nine-point victory over the Lions, 78-69, in overtime.

 

Buckingham, Miller and Ruble led the Beavers with 19 points each. Ruble's 19 points established a new career-high for the sophomore sharpshooter. Buckingham also grabbed a team-high nine boards. Miller went 9-for-9 at the charity stripe and Ruble made a career-high five three-pointers on the night. Miller also pulled down eight caroms, dished out four assists and picked up three steals. Amis had six boards and Reynolds came up with three steals. The Beavers went 24-of-60 (40 percent) from the field, 5-of-26 (19.2 percent) from deep and 25-for-31 (80.6 percent) at the line.

 

Both KATIE JO COLLINS and Gonzales paced the Lions with 14 points each, while Collins pulled down seven rebounds. CODIE GERWE added nine points and swatted away two Bluffton shots. TRICIA SIEMER grabbed nine boards in the contest. MSJ finished the game shooting 27-of-72 (37.5 percent) from the field, 14-of-20 (70 percent) from the charity stripe and only 1-of-14 (7.1 percent) from behind the arc.

 

 

The Bluffton University women's team will host conference foe Franklin College in Founders Hall on Saturday, January 30. The Alumni Day contest between the Beavers and Grizzlies is slated for 3 p.m.