BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University women's basketball team put the clamps on Adrian College in a 65-54 victory over the visiting Bulldogs on Saturday, Dec. 21. Bluffton upped its mark to 6-4 on the season, while Adrian slipped to 3-7 overall.
The Beavers trailed 13-6 late in the first quarter when the Bluffton defense went to work. It limited Adrian to 11 points over a span of 18 minutes as the home team opened up a comfortable 38-24 lead with 6:21 to play in third quarter.
Sophomores Alexis Stevely (Marion/Wynford) and Rachel Clark (Lima/Bath) ignited the Bluffton offense in the final 1:26 of period one with Stevely cutting to the hoop for a layup before Clark made it 13-11 with her first triple of the afternoon.
Back-to-back trifectas from seniors Kayla Prigge (Hamler/Patrick Henry) and Tamron Brinkman (Dayton/East Dayton Christian) put the home team up 21-17 before another Prigge long ball at the 2:35 mark made it 25-20 in favor of the good guys. Junior Madison Brown (Montpelier/Northe Central added a free throw with 22 seconds in the half, making it 26-20 at the break.
Brown dialed long distance to open the third quarter and Clark drained a pair of triples en route to a 41-26 Bluffton lead with just under four on the the clock. Senior Lindsey Smith (Mount Victory/Kenton) got into the scoring column at the 3:36 mark, giving Bluffton its largest lead of the game (44-26).
Adrian trimmed its deficit to 10 points heading to the fourth quarter, but six straight points from the Beavers, capped by a Brinkman chip shot, pushed the lead back to 16. The Bulldogs got as close as nine points, however, three Brown freebies and a pair of Clark makes at the line sealed the 65-54 victory Saturday afternoon.
Brown went 6-of-12 from the field for a game-high 20 points and she stuffed the stat sheet with nine rebounds and four assists. Clark dropped in a career-high 17 points on 3-of-4 shotting from outside the arc. Brinkman added 10 counters for the Beavers. Prigge ripped down a career-best nine boards, while Lacie Fenstermaker (Leipsic/Pandora-Gilboa) came up with eight boards and four blocks. Freshman Mackenzea Townsend (Union City/Mississinawa Valley) cleaned the glass with a career-high seven caroms.
Bluffton hit 22-of-55 from the field (40 percent), including 7-for-17 outside the arc (41.2 percent). The Beavers ripped down nine more rebounds (46-37), but turned it over one more time (13-12).
The Bluffton University women will head home to kick off Christmas break before welcoming long-time rival Defiance College for a non-conference showdown on Monday, Dec. 30, at 5 p.m.
-BEAVERS-