By: Takayla Gadberry, sports information assistant
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Bluffton University women's basketball team battle HCAC-heavyweight Transylvania University for four quarters before the Pioneers salted away a 70-56 victory on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020. The Beavers dropped to 13-12 (7-11 HCAC) following the loss.
Transy made four straight triples to give them a quick 12-0 lead. Brianna Gillig (New Riegel) hit two free throws to make the score 12-2. Sammy Shardo (Findlay/Liberty-Benton) followed with two trifectas to pull the Beavers within 10 (18-8). Two layups and two freebies from Tj Mills (Dayton/Chaminade-Julienne) had Bluffton down 25-16 at the end of the first.
Five minutes and a 6-0 run from the Pioneers put them up 31-16 before Mills hit a three and a layup to close the gap to 10 again (31-21). Two shots in the paint from Morgan Smith (Arlington) and Mills made the score 34-25 in favor of Transy. Trifectas from Mills and Peyton Henry (Leipsic) pulled the Beavers within six (37-31) at the half.
A quick shot from Emma Saltzman (Arcadia) and two Gillig freebies had Bluffton down just two (37-35). The Pioneers made it 45-36 until six straight points from Gillig had the Beavers back within three (45-42). Two field goals from Smith and Gillig made the score 52-46 in favor of Transylvania going into the final stanza.
A 12-4 run for Transy in the first half of the fourth widened the gap to 15 (64-49). Shardo drained another three, making the score 66-54. Smith dropped a deuce but it wasn't enough as the Beavers would fall to the Pioneers by a 70-56 final.
Mills and Gillig led the Bluffton offense with 16 points apiece. Shardo and Smith chipped in nine and eight markers, respectively. Gillig led the defense with eight rebounds, followed by Mills with four. Mills also tallied four steals in the loss.
The Beavers struggled from the field going 18-of-56 (32.1 percent) and 6-of-23 (26.1 percent) from deep. The Pioneers hit 24-of-51 (47.1 percent), including 9-of-22 from beyond the arc. Bluffton connected on 14-of-16 (87.5 percent) from the free throw line, compared to Transy's 13-of-16 (81.3 percent). The Pioneers pulled down one more board (32-31) and both teams coughed the ball up just eight times.
Bluffton finished in a three-way tie (Anderson-Bluffton-Earlham) for 4th place in the Heartland Conference. The Beavers earned the #5 seed and will travel to Anderson University on Tuesday, Feb. 25, for the opening round of the HCAC Tournament. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. The victor will face tourney host Transylvania on Saturday, Feb. 29, at 1 p.m.
-BEAVERS-