Defiance started off the game hot as the visitors came out of the gates with a BROOKE ZACHRICH three-pointer. The Beavers quickly responded with three consecutive jumpers, two by senior KATIE LORD (Toledo/Whitmer) for a 6-3 lead after two minutes of play. Following a SHAVONDA PRICE layup, the teams hit a dry spell for the next two minutes. BRITTANY STEGMAIER (Garfield/Trinity) finally knocked down a three-pointer to put the Beavers up 9-5.

 

Bluffton went up 17-10 after a RACHEL DAMAN (Defiance/Tinora) jumper at the 11-minute mark. The Yellow Jackets cut the lead to two with 7:39 left in the half. The Beavers once again pushed the spread with six straight points, capped with a KIM MILLER (Delphos/St. John's) layup which made it 26-18 with 6:34 left in the half.

 

Defiance fashioned a 22-7 run during the final six minutes of the period to take a 40-33 lead over the Beavers at the break thanks to five Bluffton miscues in a three-minute span.

 

Bluffton started off the second half on a roll, as two consecutive Miller layups got the Beavers back within three at the 18:25 mark. The Yellow Jackets made a 5-0 run for a 51-40 advantage with 15:22 left in the second half.

 

The Beavers once again picked away at the lead, pulling within six at the 12-minute mark. With Defiance on the verge of putting the game away with 10 minutes to play and the Yellow Jackets up 14 (65-61), Bluffton finally started to click on all cylinders. The Beavers went on a quick 10-0 run to make the score 65-61 with just less than eight minutes remaining.

 

Defiance responded by pushing the margin back to 10 points following two Stucke free throws with just under three minutes left. Eight straight points by the home team, including six from Miller, made the score 76-74 Defiance with one minute and change left on the clock.

 

After Zachrich extended the lead to four with a pair of makes from the stripe, Lord again pulled the Beavers within two. Zachrich then split a pair from the foul line to give Bluffton hope. 

 

Daman's free throw made it a two-point game with 39 seconds remaining. With Bluffton trying to commit a foul, the Yellow Jackets called timeout and following the break, an errant attempt from deep missed everything as the shot clock violation turned it back over to the Beavers. Bluffton bobbled the ball with time ticking away but a jump situation allowed the Beavers to take it out under the basket with 2.6 seconds remaining. Another fumbled pass found its way to Rachel Daman behind the backboard, but after collecting the ball she was able to drop in a 10-footer on the baseline to tie the game at 79 as the buzzer sounded.

 

Defiance claimed the first lead of overtime with a Zachrich layup. Back-to-back three-point plays by Miller, who took over in the extra session with seniors Buckingham and Auer both out of the game, gave the Beavers an 85-83 lead before she found Stegmaier cutting to the hoop for an easy deuce. Another Stegmaier layup from Daman with just under three minutes remaining made it 89-83 in favor of the home team.

 

Defiance cut it to 93-91 thanks to a Schmersal deep ball with 29 seconds left, but the Beavers split their eight free throw attempts during the final minute to secure a 96-91 win over the rival Yellow Jackets.

 

Leading the scoring parade, which included a season-high six ladies in double digits, was stat sheet stuffer Kim Miller who knocked in a game-high 29 points, pulled down 12 boards, dished out six dimes and blocked two crucial Defiance shots in overtime. It marked her eighth double-double and the 29 points matched her career-best against Mount St. Joseph from earlier this season.

 

Senior Vicki Auer was next for the Beavers with 17 points before fouling out late in regulation. The Beavers had three players check in with 11, including Stegmaier, Lord, and Daman. Finishing the double-digit scoring for the Beavers was GINNY BUCKINGHAM (Bluffton) who added 10 and came away with 14 boards for her 15th career double-double. The Beavers finished the game shooting an outstanding 32-of-60 (53.3 percent) from the field, 5-of-14 (35.7 percent) from three-point land and 27-for-37 (73.0 percent) at the charity stripe.

 

Defiance also put six players in double figures, as they were led by Schmersal with 19 points, including 5 makes from long distance, and Stucke with 15. MANDIE WHITE added 13 points, while pulling in 15 boards, and Zachrich added 12. Price and MOLLY BATEMAN each chipped in with 11 for the Yellow Jackets. Defiance finished the game going 33-of-84 (39.3 percent) from the field, 11-of-35 (31.4 percent) from behind the arc and 14-of-19 (73.7 percent) from the line.

 

 

Bluffton finished with a commanding 51-40 margin on the glass, but the Beavers turned it over nine more times (21-12) than the visitors. Defiance will play Franklin in a matchup of HCAC tournament qualifiers this Saturday, while the Beavers wrapped up their 2009-10 campaign with the 96-91 OT win over the Yellow Jackets.