LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Bluffton University women's basketball team battled #1 seed Transylvania in the first round of the Heartland Conference on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. Defense was the name of the game as Bluffton held the Pioneers to 58 points, but the Beavers came up just short (58-52) in Lexington. Bluffton's season came to a close, while Transylvania will gear up to host the tournament semi-finals and finals next weekend.

Less than three minutes into the game, Bluffton jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead. Madison Brown (Montpelier/North Central), Tamron Brinkman (Dayton/East Dayton Christian) and Rachel Clark (Lima/Bath) all nailed jumpers to ignite the Beaver offense. Transy rattled off eight straight before Brinkman pulled the visitors within two points (10-8). Kayla Prigge (Hamler/Patrick Henry) and Brown both hit deuces late in the period as the Beavers trailed by four (16-12) after one frame.

A 3-of-16 shooting performance in the second quarter proved to be the difference as Transylvania outscored the Beavers 14-6 en route to a 30-18 lead at the break.

Bluffton cut into the Transy lead with a 10-2 spurt over the first five minutes of quarter three. Brinkman did the damage with six points in less than three minutes. Transy closed out the period with an 8-4 run, making it 40-32 heading to the final countdown.

A hoop-and-harm for Lacie Fenstermaker (Leipsic/Pandora-Gilboa) made it a five-point game (40-35) before sophomore Alexis Stevely (Marion/Wynford) dialed long distance, pulling the Beavers within four at the 7:51 mark. The Pioneers pushed it back to 10, but Stevely got to the rack and Clark hit from distance, cutting the deficit in half with 4:37 to play. Brinkman continued her offensive onslaught with a pair of makes sandwiched around a Lindsey Smith (Mount Victory/Kenton) jumper, but the top-seeded Pioneers held on for a 58-52 victory on Saturday afternoon.

Brinkman was 9-of-13 for a career-best 18 points in her final game as a Beaver. Clark and Smith followed with seven and six markers, respectively. Smith ripped down 10 rebounds, while Brown added nine boards. Prigge handed out five assists and Brinkman picked up two steals.

Bluffton hit 24-of-63 (38.1 percent) from the field, including a paltry 2-of-14 (14.3 percent) outside the arc. The visitors pulled down three more rebounds (41-38), but the Beavers turned it over two more times (13-11).

The Beavers wrapped up their 2024-25 campaign with a final record of 11-15 overall and 5-13 in the Heartland Conference. Continue to check the Bluffton Women's Basketball Webpage over the coming weeks for updated record books and all-conference honors.

-BEAVERS-