By Brandy Bidlack, sports information assistant
Box scorewww.bluffton.edu/sports/womensbasketball/2011/12-04-wb.htm
The Bluffton University women's basketball team hosted Transylvania University on Saturday, December 4. The Beavers took a 37-25 lead in the first half and despite being outscored in the second half (38-35), the Bluffton women defeated Transy for just the second time in school history. Bluffton improved to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Heartland Conference, while Transylvania dropped to 3-3 overall and 0-2 in the HCAC.
The Beavers lit up the scoreboard first with a layin from senior standout Kim Miller (Delphos/St. John's). Responding to a quick four Pioneer points, Miller ignited a 20-5 rally against Transy before the Pioneers reached double digits. With less than six minutes to go in the first half, a pair of Lauren Hutton (New Riegel) freebies gave the Beavers a nine-point advantage (25-16).
Less than a minute later, junior Rachel Daman (Defiance/Tinora) hit a triple to give Bluffton a double-digit lead. Freshman Kim Meyer (Millbury/Lake), in her first collegiate action, converted a Pioneer turnover into a trey to increase the edge to 14 points (31-17). At the 3:25 mark junior Brittany Lewis (Springfield/Shawnee) generated a layup for Bluffton before a pair from the charity stripe put the Beavers up 37-25 going into halftime.
Junior Brittany Stegmaier (Garfield/Trinity) sparked the Bluffton offense to start the second half, knocking down a shot from behind the arc. At the 16:36 mark, Hutton drove to the hoop for two and seconds later, Alicia Amis (Woodstock/Mechanicsburg) found an open Miller for a deuce which gave the Beavers an 18-point cushion (47-29) over the Pioneers.
However, Transylvania snapped out of their lull and countered with an 18-9 run before Stegmaier answered with a layin. During the last five minutes of play, the Beavers added 10 free-throws to secure their first Heartland Conference win of the season and second-ever victory over the Pioneers in 19 tries.
Miller led the Beavers with 21 points and 13 boards for her ninth career double-double. She also dished out a team-high four assists to go along with a block and a steal. Hutton dropped in a career-high 18 points and grabbed eight off the glass in addition to picking up two steals in the contest. Brittany Stegmaier chipped in 17 points and pulled down six rebounds. Lewis and Daman added five points each for Bluffton.
Bluffton hit a superb 24-of-45 (53.3 percent) from the field, compared to just 19-of-54 (35.2 percent) for the visitors. The Beavers struggled from behind the arc, making 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) while Transy only made four triples as well (33.3 percent). The Beavers knocked down 20-of-30 (66.7 percent) at the line. The Pioneers went 21-of-28 (75 percent) at the charity stripe. The home team won the battle on the boards (36-30). Transylvania turned the ball over 20 times while forcing 23 miscues from Bluffton.
The Bluffton University women's basketball team will host Anderson on Wednesday, December 8, in Founders Hall. The battle between the Beavers and the Ravens will begin at 7:30 p.m.
