March 1, 2017
BLUFFTON, Ohio - Bluffton University raked in the hardware when the Heartland Conference announced its 2016-17 women's basketball award winners. For the first time in school history three Beavers secured First Team All-HCAC recognition! Senior Rachel Beining (Ottoville) along with juniors Macey Sheerer (Bucyrus) and Kaycee Rowe (Harrod/Allen East) were three of just seven women to garner first team acclaim. Floor general TJ Mills (Dayton/Chaminade-Julienne) was named the HCAC Freshman of the Year, the third Beaver to earn that award and the second in three years following Emily Shellabarger (2008-09) and Macey Sheerer (2014-15).
Bluffton's chairman of the boards, Rachel Beining, notched her second consecutive First Team All-HCAC honor after being named to the All-Freshman Team in 2013-14. Beining ranked in the top 6 of the HCAC with 7.9 RPG (3rd), 13.5 PPG (7th) and a 52.5 FG percentage (3rd). Her 44 blocks were also 2nd in the Heartland Conference. Beining was named HCAC Player of the Week after averaging a double-double in January victories over Franklin, Manchester and Hanover. Her 156 field goals this season rank 5th all-time while her 351 points are 12th on the single-season list.
Beining leaves Bluffton as the all-time leading rebounder by a country mile. The Putnam County native rolled past Kim Miller's former record of 697 caroms and never looked back. She finished with 789 boards for her career (7.4 PRG). Beining's 1,156 career markers are 3rd on the all-time list, while her 480 field goals place Beining 2nd. A .503 career field goal percentage has Beining 3rd all-time and her 169 blocks are also 3rd all-time.
Joining Rachel as a two-time First Team All-Heartland Conference honoree is junior Macey Sheerer. A bulldog on the boards who's height is no match for her heart, Sheerer is 4th in the HCAC with 14.5 PPG and 6th with 6.7 RPG. She is 9th with 1.5 steals per game while her 3.2 assists per game are 6th in the conference. Her 377 points this season are 7th all-time at Bluffton and 131 free throws are 3rd for a season.
With another campaign yet to play, Sheerer is already 9th all-time with 1,043 career tallies. She is 3rd all-time with 357 career free throws, while her 80.8 percent at the line is 2nd to fellow junior Kaycee Rowe (81.8 percent). Sheerer has climbed to 8th with 561 career boards and her 184 assists are 16th all-time.
A Second Team All-HCAC honoree as a sophomore, Kaycee Rowe took her game up a notch after a rigorous offseason in the weight room and on the practice court. She made it three Beavers to be named First Team All-Heartland Conference after bucketing a team-high 14.6 PPG (3rd in the HCAC) and doling out a team-best 3.5 APG (3rd in the HCAC). The stat sheet stuffer also pulled down 5.7 RPG (12th in the HCAC) and her 2.4 SPG are 2nd in the conference. Rowe's ability to slice and dice into the heart of opposing defenses helped her to consecutive HCAC Player of the Week honors late in the season.
Despite being just two and a half seasons into her Bluffton career, Rowe is already 19th on the all-time scoring list with 774 points. A nearly 90 percent junior year at the stripe has Rowe #1 on the career list at 81.8 percent. She is 13th all-time with 189 assists and her 130 steals are 13th for a career. Rowe also has 40 career blocks (9th all-time).
TJ Mills had huge shoes to fill and she was up to the challenge, earning a starting assignment for the season opener and never looking back following the graduation of Taylor Knight who was a four-year starter at the point and an all-conference honoree her last two seasons. Mills made life miserable for the best playmakers in the HCAC and her 3.0 APG on the other end were 7th in the conference. She netted 7.4 PPG and came away with 1.3 SPG (13th HCAC).
Bluffton senior JESSICA BOGGAN (Cincinnati/Princeton) was recognized by the HCAC as a member of the All-Conference Sportsmanship team for the 2016-17 season. The award has been developed as part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative. Members of the All-HCAC Sportsmanship team are selected by the coaches and their teammates as individuals who demonstrate the ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the court.
-BEAVERS-
