January 26, 2016
BLUFFTON, Ohio - As Bluffton's march toward a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship continues, the women notched their first-ever appearance in the D3hoops.com national Top 25 poll when it was unveiled on Monday afternoon. The Beavers have been receiving votes for the past few weeks, but consecutive home Saturday drubbings of Hanover and Franklin, two teams that had a combined mark of 75-11 against Bluffton, propelled the women to #21 in the nation. When Bluffton defeated Franklin on January 2 it was the first time in school history that the women had won a road game against the Grizzlies so Saturday's win added up the a first-ever sweep of FC!
With six consecutive victories in a season the previous benchmark for a Bluffton women's basketball team, the Beavers are in uncharted territory thanks to a spotless 17-0 mark with just four weeks of regular season action to go. Coming off an 18-9 campaign that broke the school record of 16 victories, Bluffton is set to obliterate that mark for the second time in as many years.
A balanced lineup that includes six players averaging at least eight points has been the key and each of those six individuals has led the Beavers in scoring at least one time this season with four of the women accomplishing that feat multiple times. In fact, Bluffton has had six different leading scorers in the past six contests.
The 2015-16 seniors have already set the school mark for career victories with 61 wins, surpassing the 2014-15 class which registered 52 during its four-year run. Head Coach Chad Shutler etched his name in the record book on Saturday afternoon when the Beavers won game number 122 with the 11th year mentor at the helm, going around Michelle Durand who finished her tenure at Bluffton with 121 wins.
On an individual level, senior TAYLOR KNIGHT (Perrysburg) is currently fourth all-time with 331 career assists heading into the Mount St. Joseph matchup. She trails Jill Laughlin and Beth Crates by just four with Kim Miller's 412 at the top of the list. Junior RACHEL BEINING (Ottoville) is just one rebound shy of 500 as her 499 are currently 11th on the all-time list. Senior TAYLOR WHITAKER (Mansfield/Lexington) and sophomore MACEY SHEERER (Bucyrus), who leads the HCAC in shooting, are at the top of the all-time free throw percentage list while senior KAITLYN PENNEKAMP(Hamilton/Ross) came into the season tied for the top career three-point field goal percentage. Whitaker is ninth on the all-time scoring list and she needs only 50 points to reach 1,000 career markers. When sophomore KAYCEE ROWE (Harrod/Allen East) went off for a career-high 27 points in the win over Franklin on Saturday, her five triples were just one off the school record of six makes from distance.
Bluffton will put its perfect 17-0 mark on the line Wednesday night when the Beavers welcome HCAC rival Mount St. Joseph to the Sommer Center. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. Come out and support your Beavers as they continue their historic season!
-BEAVERS-