February 14, 2015
By: Ryan Schadewald, sports information assistant
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Bluffton University women made the long trek to Terre Haute, Ind. and they overcame a poor shooting day to earn a 59-49 victory over the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology on Saturday, Feb. 14. The Beavers clinched a spot in the upcoming Heartland Conference tournament with the win, improving to 16-7 and 11-5 in HCAC play. The Engineers dropped to 12-11 and 8-8 in conference action. Bluffton's 16 wins equaled the 1995-96 squad for the most victories in school history, while the 11 conference wins eclipsed last year's team for the most ever HCAC victories.
The Engineers led for much of the opening stanza, leading as many as five on two separate occasions. Trailing 15-10 at the 6:59 mark, Bluffton would score six of the next eight tallies, including the go-ahead jumper from Taylor Knight (Perrysburg) which gave the Beavers an 18-17 lead. Rose went up 19-18 before four straight points from Kaitlyn Pennekamp (Hamilton/Ross) sparked an 8-0 run before a bucket from Abbie Marshall got the Engineers within five going into the locker room. The Beavers struggled shooting the rock in the opening half, converting just 30.4 percent (7-of-23).
The defenses continued to rule to start the second half as Bluffton's lead stayed between three and five points for the first seven minutes. But with Bluffton leading 39-33 at the 9:03 mark, a triple from Knight made it a nine-point game. Both teams traded buckets before Macey Sheerer (Bucyrus) hit two freebies for a double-digit advantage which the Beavers easily held for the 10-point win.
A key to the Bluffton victory again came from the charity stripe as the Beavers shot 23-of-26 for 88.5 percent, while the Engineers were 15-of-23 for just 65.2 percent. Bluffton shot much better from the field in the second stanza to finish the game 17-of-45 (37.8 percent). The Engineers continued to struggle, though, going 16-of-47 (34 percent). Rose-Hulman won the battle of the boards 35-27, including grabbing 14 on the offensive end, but committed five more turnovers than Bluffton (18-13).
Freshman phenom Macey Sheerer finished another fantastic game with her second career double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 12 boards to go along with four steals. Taylor Knight finished the night with 13 points and a team-leading three assists. Kaitlyn Pennekamp added eight points, four boards and two blocks. The Engineers were led by Abbie Marshall with 14 and Josie Schmidt with 12.
Bluffton returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 18, as they hit the road again to take on the Earlham College Quakers. Tip time is set for 7:30 p.m. Come support your Beavers!
-BEAVERS-
