BLUFFTON, Ohio - After a 4-0 mark in November, the Bluffton University women continued to roll with a pair of victories over Adrian College before Transylvania snapped Bluffton's six-game winning streak with an 83-61 victory over the Beavers on Saturday, Dec. 12. The Beavers handled Manchester all four times that the two schools met over a 10-day span in November.
The women slugged it out for four quarters before coming away with a 46-37 win over Adrian on Monday, Dec. 7. With Bluffton trailing 18-17 after a low-scoring first half, the home team used a 14-8 edge in the third quarter to take control.
Junior post Emma Saltzman (Arcadia) got things going for the Beavers in the fourth with a jumper at the 9:49 mark. She took over in the final stanza, scoring seven points in the fourth quarter alone. Sophomore Sammy Shardo would (Findlay/Liberty-Benton) drain a crucial three on a kick out from Saltzman at the 2:03 mark to give Bluffton its largest lead of the game as the Beavers moved to 5-0 with the 46-37 victory.
Senior Nora Hemminger (McComb) was the lone Beaver in double figures with 11 points. She just missed out on her second career double double with nine boards and the senior also picked up a career-high six steals. Saltzman added eight counters and seven rebounds on 3-of-6 shooting from the field. Shardo and freshman Maddie Fitzpatrick (Mt. Gilead), who handed out four assists, chipped in with six points apiece.
The Beavers needed to work overtime on Wednesday, Dec. 9, and it paid dividends as Bluffton downed Adrian, 70-66, for Head Coach Chad Shutler's 200th career victory!
Junior Brianna Gillig (New Riegel) returned to the lineup for the first time this season and was key for the Beavers, netting six points in the first period. Despite the surge from Gillig, the home team still trailed 20-14 at the end of the first period.
With Bluffton down 46-45 heading to the fourth quarter, Hemminger willed the Beavers to overtime with all nine of Bluffton's points in the stanza. She started her scoring run with a free throw at the 5:40 mark. The senior then went on to make four layups with her last at the 2:48 mark which gave the Beavers a 54-52 lead. Adrian made two free throws late in the game to tie the score. The Bulldogs then let their opportunity to win slip away when a missed layup with four ticks on the clock sent the game to overtime, deadlocked at 54-54.
Gillig picked up right where Hemminger left off. She dropped in eight points, including a HUGE 3-pointer at the 2:37 mark of overtime which made the score 62-58. Fitzpatrick added five critical points in the extra session as well, dialing long distance before driving down broadway to make it 67-60 with 1:30 to play. Hemminger capped it off with a free throw with nine seconds left, giving the home team a 70-66 win over the Bulldogs.
The two Beavers in double digits were Gillig with 20 and Hemminger with a career-high tying 18. These two also combined for 15 of the team's 48 rebounds. Fitzpatrick led the squad in assists with a career-best six. Bluffton showed its improved depth with a dominating 38-12 performance by the bench.
The Beavers suffered their first loss of the season on the road at Transylvania University on a rainy Saturday, Dec. 12. The Beavers lost 83-61, shooting a paltry 29.9 percent from the field, compared to Transylvania's red-hot 52.9 percent from the field.
A 26-10 first quarter for Transy was too much to overcome as the Beavers never led in the game. The lone double-digit scorer for the Beavers was Gillig with 18 markers. Hemminger added eight rebounds and three assists. Saltzman had three takeaways to lead the visitors.
Gillig leads the Beavers with 19.0 PPG on 11-of-24 (45.8 percent) from the field and an impressive 14-for-17 (82.4 percent) at the line. She is pulling down 4.5 RPG and has four steals in two games. Shardo is 13-of-33 (39.4 percent) from distance for 8.6 PPG. Hemminger and Fitzpatrick are dropping in 8.0 and 7.6 PPG, respectively. Fitzpatrick leads the Beavers with 3.0 assists per game, while Hemminger has a team-best 2.0 steals per game. Hemminger and Saltzman are both pulling down more than six rebounds per game. Coach Shutler has spread the wealth with 11 women averaging at least 10 minutes per game.
Bluffton stands 6-1 heading into the holidays as the Beavers will take a two-week hiatus for Christmas. Check the Bluffton Athletics website over the coming weeks for an updated Heartland Conference slate.
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