By: Adriane Bruner, sports information assistant
ST LOUIS, Mo. - The Bluffton University women’s basketball team traveled to Missouri for their season opener in the Webster Tip-off Classic, facing the Spalding University Golden Eagles. The Beavers fell behind by 14 at the break and were unable to get any closer than six points in the second half in dropping the season opener, 72-57.
Spalding charged out of the gates quickly, putting up seven points within the first minute and a half before Bluffton was able to get any points on the board. The Eagles continued to bolster their lead as the Beavers struggled to put the biscuit in the basket. It took nine minutes before the Beavers hit their first shot, a Mikayla Coburn (McGuffey/Upper Scioto Valley) triple which made the score 17-7.
After Bluffton broke the lid off of the hoop, the Beavers slowly inched their way back into the game as Spalding continued to send them to the free throw line. With two makes from the charity stripe, senior Brenna Kurilec (Mt. Gilead/Gilead Christian) brought the point spread down to five, but the Eagles quickly responded with a 12-3 run. The half ended with Spalding on top, 39-25.
Coming out from the locker rooms the teams were back and forth until freshman Macey Sheerer (Bucyrus) made her way to center stage to pull the Beavers back into striking distance. With a long-range shot for three from Taylor Whitaker (Mansfield/Lexington), Bluffton trimmed the Spalding lead to just six points at 56-50.
This comeback was answered by Spalding as the Eagles used a 16-7 spurt to finish off Bluffton 72-57.
Leading the Beavers in scoring were Sheerer with 13 and Coburn with 12, including 5-of-8 shooting from the field. Leading scorers for the Eagles were Styles with 23 points and Guy with 21, both being 8-of-16 from the field.
The Beavers hit 19-of-66 (28.8 percent) shots from the field, much less efficient than their components who were 26-of-59 (44.1 percent). Bluffton converted 15-of-21 (71.4 percent) at the stripe, compared to the Spalding's 17-of-25 (68.0 percent).
The Beavers return to the same court tomorrow for the final day of the Webster Tip-off Classic. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. against the host Webster University Gorloks.
-BEAVERS-
