BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University women's basketball team dropped a 69-67 heartbreaker to Berea College on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. Bluffton fell to 8-8 overall and 2-7 in the Heartland Conference, while Berea improved to 8-8 and 3-6 in the HCAC.
Bluffton ran out to a 20-8 lead on the strength of six points apiece from seniors Tamron Brinkman (Dayton/East Dayton Christian) and Kayla Prigge (Hamler/Patrick Henry). The visitors responded with a 9-3 splurge that made the score 23-17 after period one.
Free throws from Brinkman and Rachel Clark (Lima/Bath) pushed the spread back to 11 (31-20) with 4:09 to play in the first half. Madison Brown (Montpelier/North Central) and Erin Schafelberger (Van Wert) both cashed in with a pair of freebies late in the second quarter as Bluffton took a 35-26 lead to the break.
The Mountaineers trimmed the deficit to six points early in the third, but six Brinkman counters gave the Beavers a commanding 48-37 lead at the 4:24 mark. Freshman Mackenzea Townsend (Union City/Mississinawa Valley) got to the rack and junior Lacie Fenstermaker (Leipsic/Pandora-Gilboa) followed with a deuce en route to a 52-42 lead heading to the final stanza.
Junior Katie Sims (Perrysburg) dialed long distance at the 8:26 mark, however, a 15-3 spurt over just three minutes put the visitors up 57-55 with under seven minutes to play. Berea opened a five-point cushion before five straight Brown counters leveled the score at 63 apiece. The Mountaineers went up by four and held on for the 69-67 victory on Saturday afternoon.
Brinkman equaled her career-best with 16 points, knocking down all eight of her foul shots. She also added five rebounds and two steals. Brown and Prigge checked in with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Smith pulled down 10 boards and Brown was right behind her with nine caroms. Prigge dished out four assists, while Clark picked up three steals.
The Beavers hit 21-of-50 from the field (42 percent), including 3-of-12 (25 percent) outside the arc. Bluffton connected on 22-of-32 at the stripe (68.8 percent). The home team pulled down four more rebounds (41-37), but it also turned it over four more times (21-17).
Bluffton will hit the road for a 7 p.m. matchup at Mount St. Joseph on Wednesday, Jan. 22.
-BEAVERS-
