ANDERSON, Ind. - The McDonald's Classic left Bluffton flat on Sunday, Jan. 2, as host Anderson University pummeled the Beavers 81-52 in the opening game of 2022, snapping their four-game winning streak in the process. Bluffton fell to 6-5 overall and 1-3 in the Heartland Conference, while the Ravens moved to 5-6 and 2-2 in the HCAC.

A Maddie Fitzpatrick (Mount Gilead) layup followed by an Angel Schneider (Columbus Grove) trifecta had the visitors up early, but seven straight points for the visitors gave Anderson a lead it would never relinquish. The Beavers were still within a deuce late in the first quarter thanks to a Kayla Prigge (Hamler/Patrick Henry) triple and buckets by Brianna Gillig (New Riegel) and Fitzpatrick before Anderson standout Lexi Dellinger dialed long distance with one tick remaining in the first period.

Six straight points for Anderson to open the second half pushed the Raven advantage to 11 and the Ravens were on their way to a rout. The Beavers trailed 36-23 at the break despite a pair of triples from Peyton Henry (Leipsic) in the second quarter. Anderson's lead mushroomed to 26 at the end of three and Bluffton was unable to make any inroads in the final stanza as Anderson evened its conference mark at 2-2 on the season.

Prigge led the Beavers with nine counters, while Gillig, Fitzpatrick and Sydney Cavanaugh (Mansfield/St. Peter's) all chipped in with eight points on Sunday. Gillig ripped down nine boards and Sammy Shardo (Findlay/Liberty-Benton) dished out three assists. Freshman Olivia Zender (Fostoria/Hopewell Louden) picked up three steals.

Bluffton hit just 19-of-71 (26.8 percent) from the field, including 5-for-23 (21.7 percent) outside the arc. Anderson was an efficient 30-of-60 (50 percent) from the field. The home team pulled down eight more rebounds (46-38), but it also turned the ball over three more times (21-18). 

The women will travel to Defiance for a 6 p.m. matchup with the rival Yellow Jackets on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022.

-BEAVERS-