By: Takayla Gadberry, sports information assistant
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University women's basketball team welcomed Manchester University to the Sommer Center on a snowy Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020. The Beavers were able to pull away late in the fourth for a 65-58 victory. Bluffton improved to 12-10 (6-9 HCAC) while the Spartans fell to 8-14 (5-10 HCAC).
Manchester controlled the tip and took an early 5-0 lead. Brianna Gillig (New Riegel) hit the first bucket for the home team followed by a freebie and a Tj Mills (Dayton/Chaminade-Julienne) layin which tied the score up at five apiece. A Sammy Shardo (Findlay/Liberty-Benton) trifecta gave the Beavers a 10-7 lead, but a 4-0 run for the Spartans gave the visitors an 11-10 advantage at the end of the first.
Mills set the tone for the second quarter with two buckets in the paint and a charity shot to push the Beavers ahead, 15-13. A Kylie Brock (Villa Hills, KY/Dixie Heights) shot from deep increased the Bluffton lead to four (18-14). Senior Dj Keesey (Cadiz/Harrison Central) would drop in two buckets of her own to give the home team a 24-19 lead, however, a Spartan layup and triple at the buzzer knotted the score at 24 going into the break.
A five-point run for Manchester had them up 29-24 in the beginning of the third until Abbie Parkins (Bluffton) hit a shot from outside the arc followed by a Nora Hemminger (McComb) tip-in and freebie to put the Beavers on top 30-29. Mills added two layups to push the score to 41-38 but a three-point shot from the Spartans would tie it back up at 41. Gillig dropped a deuce to give the good guys a 43-42 advantage going into the final quarter.
Back-to-back shots in the paint from Gillig and Mills pushed the Beaver spread to 47-42. It was then the battle of threes as Manchester pulled within one before Hemminger answered right back with a triple of her own to make the score 54-50 in favor of Bluffton. Another trifecta for the Spartans would give them a lead, but it was short lived as Parkins again dialed long distance to put the Beavers back on top, 57-55. A layup and six straight foul shots for Bluffton helped secure the 65-58 victory.
Mills led the Beaver offense with 20 points. Gillig tallied 13 markers while also leading the defense with a career-high tying 15 rebounds for her eighth career double-double. Parkins and Hemminger picked up nine and eight points, respectively. Emma Saltzman (Arcadia) pulled down seven boards with Mills ripping down six.
Both teams struggled offensively as Bluffton connected on just 24-of-74 (32.4 percent) field goals and 5-of-29 (17.2 percent) from deep. Manchester hit 20-of-58 (34.5 percent) shots, but nailed 8-of-20 (40 percent) from beyond the arc. The Beavers drained 12-of-18 (66.7 percent) from the charity stripe while the Spartans only hit 10-of-19 (52.6 percent). The home team pulled down nine more rebounds (52-43) and coughed the ball up six fewer times (17-11). The Beavers also put up 34 points in the paint compared to Manchester's 14.
The women are back in action on Saturday, Feb. 15, when Hanover comes to town. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m., following the men's game at 1 p.m. Saturday is also Alumni Day for the men, 2020 Hall of Fame inductions and Beaver Reveal. Come out to support your Beavers, alumni, and find out who's in the suit. Go Beavers!
-BEAVERS-