By: Takayla Gadberry, sports information assistant
RICHMOND, Ind. - The Bluffton University women's basketball team traveled to Earlham College on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2019, for a matchup against the Quakers. The Beavers dropped a 69-62 decision, falling to 9-9 (3-8 HCAC).
The visitors controlled the tip and got on the board first with a Kylie Brock (Villa Hills, KY/Dixie Heights) jumper. Earlham would answer back with two baskets to take the lead, but a 9-2 run for the Beavers put them on top 11-6. Back-to-back layups from Tj Mills (Dayton/Chaminade-Julienne) and Brianna Gillig (New Riegel) gave Bluffton a 15-10 advantage at the end of the first.
Sammy Shardo (Findlay/Liberty-Benton) hit a jumper followed by a trifecta to give the Beavers the first points of the quarter (20-13). A 7-0 run put the visiting team up 27-20 with 2:54 to play in the half. Two threes from Earlham pulled the Quakers within three, but two Brock freebies pushed the Beaver lead to 31-26 going into the break.
The Quaker offense ignited early in the third quarter as two makes cut their deficit to just one. The Beavers held onto the lead though as Gillig bucketed three layups to push the score to 37-30. Brock hit two trifectas in two minutes to go along with layups from Nora Hemminger (McComb) and Haley Byrnes (Worthington/Thomas Worthington), increasing the Beaver lead to 11 (47-36). Two Gillig charity shots sent Bluffton into the final quarter up 52-46.
Hemminger hit a triple to make the score 56-50 in favor of the Beavers. The tide turned quickly, however, when Earlham used an 11-0 jag to take a 62-56 lead. Bluffton wasn't able to recover as the home team capped off its 69-62 victory.
Leading the Beaver offense was Gillig with 21 points. Shardo and Brock talked 11 and 10 markers, respectively. Emma Saltzman (Arcadia) led the Bluffton defense with nine rebounds. Gillig was close behind, pulling down seven boards.
The Beavers connected on 22-of-50 (44 percent) from the field shots, including a highly-efficient 6-of-7 (85.7 percent) from deep. Earlham hit 22-of-58 (37.9 percent) and 6-of-16 (37.5 percent) from outside the arc. Bluffton knocked down 12-of-19 (63.2 percent) from the charity stripe, compared to the Quakers' 19-of-25 (76 percent). The Beavers pulled down three more boards (37-34) but coughed the ball up nine more times (26-17).
The women are back in action on Saturday, Feb. 1, when Franklin College comes to town for Alumni Day. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. with the men's game to follow at 4 p.m. Head over to Sommer Center and support your Beavers!
-BEAVERS-