GINNY BUCKINGHAM (Bluffton) got the Beavers on the scoreboard with two points on the first possession of the game. Anderson responded with a LAUREN LEISURE three-pointer just over a minute later. Another Buckingham layup pulled the Beavers back within one (5-4). The Ravens opened a four-point lead after four minutes of play.

 

Bluffton answered with a four-point run as the Beavers tied the game with a KIM MILLER(Delphos/St. John's) layup at the 14:16 mark. BECKY RUBLE (Grover Hill/Wayne Trace) drained her first deep ball of the night to put the Beavers up 11-10 with just under 13 minutes left in the half.

 

The Ravens finally reclaimed the lead with 1:12 left, courtesy of a TIFFANY BOWSHER deuce. A COURTNEY PRATER layup at the end of the half gave the Ravens a 32-29 lead as the first half buzzer sounded.

 

The Ravens came out of the break and pushed their lead to five with yet another Bowsher layup. The Beavers slowly picked away at the lead, going ahead 37-36 four minutes into the half following a JENNA REYNOLDS (Logan) triple. Reynolds' three ignited Bluffton and the Beavers opened up a 44-39 advantage thanks to two ALICIA AMIS (Woodstock/Mechanicsburg) free throws.

 

The Beavers went up by 10 at the 11:32 mark with a Miller jumper. The Ravens trimmed the lead down to six with 7:36 left in the game, but Bluffton once again opened the spread to double digits following two Reynolds free throws with just under seven minutes to play.

 

Alicia Amis put the game out of reach with a pair of layups sandwiched around a Lauren Leisure three-pointer as Bluffton led 62-51 at the 3:58 mark. The Beavers managed the clock efficiently over the final four minutes, nailing down a 64-57 victory over the visitors from Anderson.

 

Leading the way for the Beavers offensively with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from behind the arc was sophomore Becky Ruble. BRITTANY STEGMAIER (Garfield/Trinity) chipped in with 12 points. Miller had a terrific all-around floor game for the Beavers, dropping in 10 points, dishing out eight assists, pulling down six rebounds and picking up three steals. Amis, Bluffton's 5-1 guard who frustrated the Anderson ball handlers all night, added eight for the Beavers on three buckets in the paint. Buckingham finished with seven points and a game-high eight boards.

 

The Ravens were led by Leisure with 19 points. Bowsher also put up double digits, adding 14 for the Ravens. AMY WUESTEFELD tallied nine points with seven boards for the Ravens. The Beavers shot 22-of-42 (52.4 percent) from the field, compared to 23-of-55 (41.8 percent) for the Ravens. Bluffton was an outstanding 8-of-14 (57.1 percent) from behind the arc, while the Ravens buried 6-of-12 (50.0 percent). The Beavers also proved more efficient from the line as they hit 12-of-19 (63.2 percent) with the Ravens only 5-of-12 (41.7 percent).

 

 

The Bluffton University women's team will travel to Hanover, Ind. to face the Panthers this Saturday, February 6. The contest will begin at 1 p.m. and it will be followed by the Bluffton men's matchup with Hanover.