The Beavers (4-2, 0-2 HCAC) traveled to Cincinnati to face HCAC rival Mount St. Joseph on Wednesday, Dec. 5, and fell just shy of their fifth win of the season as the Lions edged the visitors, 48-47, in a close game that featured 12 lead changes.
Ten of those 12 lead changes came in a wild first half. Mount took the first lead in the game, but freshman Brooke Ruffer (Stryker) turned the tables with two successful free throw attempts and a layup.
A three from Brooke Mosler gave Mount its second lead of the game, but Lauren Hutton (New Reigel) erased it on the next Beaver possession when sophomore Rachel DeBord (Lebanon) found her in the paint for two.
No team held a lead larger than three points until Melanie Monahan hit back-to-back layups and Megan Metzel made a free throw which put the hosts up by five at halftime.
Bluffton trimmed the deficit to three right out of the gate when Ruffer found Hutton in the paint for a deuce. After a two-and-a-half minute scoring drought for both teams, Beaver freshman Taylor Whitaker (Mansfield/Lexington) hit a jumper to make it a one-point game.
A minute later, a Kylee Burkholder (West Unity/Hilltop) free-throw tied the score, 31-31, for the seventh time of the night.
A Monahan jumper sparked a 10-3 Mount run over a six-minute-span as the Lions opened a 41-34 lead with 10:46 remaining in the game. The Beavers fought back and finally tied it up when Taylor Knight (Perrysburg) got to the rack with 1:45 to play.
After falling behind by one, Ruffer put Bluffton back on top, 47-46, with 56 seconds left. With just 16 ticks remaining, Madie Long knocked down a jumper to give the Lions a 48-47 lead. Hutton’s last second attempt was blocked, sealing Bluffton's (4-2, 0-2 HCAC) second loss of the season.
Ruffer led the Beavers with 10 points and 11 rebounds, notching the first double-double of her career. Burkholder finished the night with eight points and four rebounds on a 3-for-5 performance from the field.
Whitaker tallied seven points and five rebounds on the night, while Kaitlyn Pennekamp (Hamilton/Ross) finished with nine points and three rebounds.
The Beavers made just 17-of-52 (32.1 percent) shots from the field, including 3-of-12 (25 percent) outside the arc.
They also hit 10-of-16 (62.5 percent) from the charity stripe. Bluffton finished with a slim advantage on the glass, pulling down 37 boards to 36 for the Mount.
Bluffton will be back in action this Saturday, Dec. 8, as they host Rose-Hulman in the Sommer Center. The Community Day contest is slated for 1 p.m.
