December 6, 2011

WOOSTER, Ohio - The Bluffton University women's basketball team snapped a four-game skid with a 53-50 victory at Wooster on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011. The Beavers improved to 2-4 overall, while the Fighting Scots slipped to 1-5 on the season.

Senior ALICIA AMIS (Woodstock/Mechanicsburg) broke the ice with a triple nearly two minutes into the contest, giving Bluffton a 3-0 lead. Back-to-back Wooster baskets made the score 4-3 with 15:57 to play in the first half. Two minutes later, a pair of free throws by freshman MIKAYLA COBURN (McGuffey/Upper Scioto Valley) followed by a SHARONDA MARTIN (Dayton/Stivers) hoop gave Bluffton a 7-4 advantage.

A BETH YODER (Marshallville/Smithville) bomb pushed the spread to four points at the 11:25 mark. Wooster knotted the game at 11 before BRITTANY LEWIS (Springfield/Shawnee) drained a trey and fellow senior BRITTANY STEGMAIER (Garfield/Trinity) took advantage of a nice feed from RACHEL DAMAN (Defiance/Tinora) to give the Beavers a 16-11 edge.

Following a 9-2 spurt by the home team, Bluffton closed the half with seven consecutive counters, including a steal and hoop from Amis and Brittany Lewis trifecta which made the score 25-20 at the break.

Freshmen BRENNA KURILEC (Mt. Gilead/Gilead Christian) and Sharonda Martin powered a 10-2 Bluffton jag that gave the Beavers a 40-28 lead midway through the final period, each scoring four points in a two-minute span. LAUREN HUTTON (New Riegel) and Sharonda Martin continued to pound the Scots inside and when Stegmaier hit from distance, Bluffton led 47-35 with 6:38 to play.

Although the Bluffton offense dried up for the next five minutes, the home team was unable to take advantage. Hutton made the score 49-41 at the 1:01 mark and Daman's freebies with 47 ticks remaining kept Bluffton up by eight. Daman added two more crucial markers from the foul line before Wooster scored seven unanswered points during the final 28 seconds to make the final score 53-50.

Sharonda Martin dropped in a career-high 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field. She also pulled down five boards in just 14 minutes off the bench. Brittany Lewis stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals while connecting on 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Alicia Amis pulled down a career-high 11 boards, scored five points, picked up three steals and handed out two assists. Stegmaier scored five points and dished out three dimes. 

Both teams struggled from the field, making just 20 baskets each, but the Beavers knocked down three more triples (6-3) for the final margin. The visitors pulled down two more boards (46-44), and the Beavers dished out five more assists (14-9) than their counterparts from Wooster. JESSICA WINGEN narrowly missed a triple-double for the Fighting Scots with nine points, nine rebounds and eight blocks.

Bluffton returns to conference action with a trip to Rose-Hulman on Saturday, Dec. 10. Tip-off in Terre Haute, Ind., is slated for 1 p.m.

-BEAVERS-