BLUFFTON, Ohio - Much like they did on Saturday at Rose-Hulman, the Bluffton University women's basketball team bolted out to a 14-0 lead but again they needed a 31-14 jag in the fourth quarter to come away with their 84-60 victory on Wednesday, Feb. 9. Bluffton pushed its mark to 15-6 and 10-4 in the Heartland Conference, while Earlham stayed winless at 0-18 and 0-11 in the HCAC.
The Beavers put on a clinic, hitting six of their first seven shots on the way to a 14-0 lead just over three minutes into the game. Peyton Henry's (Leipsic) second triple of the quarter followed by a Morgan Smith (Arlington) layup pushed it to 19-4 with 4:04 on the clock, but seven straight points by the visitors made it 19-11 after one frame.
Earlham Head Coach Shanna Thompson, who was an assistant for two years at Bluffton, had her troops fired up in the second quarter as the Quakers came all the way back to take a 32-30 lead when Neely Trenshaw hit from deep with 2:32 left in the half. Brianna Gillig (New Riegel) knocked down a pair at the line and Kayla Prigge (Hamler/Patrick Henry) dialed long distance as the teams went to the break knotted at 35 apiece.
Six points for Gillig to open the third helped Bluffton forge a 45-37 lead, but again the visitors would not go away. Earlham trimmed its deficit to one point twice in the third quarter before Maddie Fitzpatrick (Mount Gilead) lined up her first three-ball of the night as Bluffton led 53-36 with one quarter to play.
Fitzpatrick was just warming up as she hit 5-of-6 from the field, including 3-of-4 outside the arc, en route to 15 points in the fourth quarter! Prigge and Smith both delivered with trifectas in the final period before Lindsey Smith (Mount Victory/Kenton) and Angel Schneider (Columbus Grove) rounded out the scoring in Bluffton's 84-60 victory over the visitors from Indiana.
The Beavers hit 32-of-65 (49.2 percent) from the field, while holding Earlham to a paltry 22-for-70 (31.4 percent). Bluffton also came up big from distance, knocking down 10-of-24 (41.7 percent). The home team manhandled Earlham on the boards (57-28), but the Beavers turned it over nine more times (17-8).
Gillig led four Beavers in double figures with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting and 7-for-8 at the line. Fitzpatrick finished with a career-high 18 points thanks to her ridiculous 15 in the fourth! Emma Saltzman (Arcadia) and Prigge added 11 and 10 markers, respectively. Fitzpatrick also chalked up her first career double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds. Gillig just missed out on a double-double with nine caroms and she took over sole possession of 3rd place on the all-time rebounding list with 706 boards! Olivia Zender (Fostoria/Hopewell-Louden) also ripped down a career-high nine rebounds. Prigge and Sammy Shardo (Findlay/Liberty-Benton) both dished out five assists.
Bluffton will be back in the Sommer Center on Saturday, Feb. 12, when the Beavers host Franklin College. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. following the men's Alumni Day contest with The Griz.
-BEAVERS-
