The Bluffton University women's basketball team opened up its season at home on Nov. 11, against Alma College.
Despite a two-hour delay due to a severe snowstorm that kept Alma on the road for over seven hours, the Beavers were able to pull off a 62-49 victory over the Scots. With the victory, Bluffton starts its season out at 1-0, while Alma is 0-1.
After controlling the tip, the visitors struck first with a deuce from Jeny Brandt. Bluffton would quickly gain the lead after a Sammy Shardo (Findlay/Liberty-Benton) triple. Two Alma layups in the last 30 seconds made a score of 12-11 in favor of the home team at the end of quarter one.
Two free throw from Alma's Emily Long and a Stasha Warchock layup gave the Scots a short-lived lead early in the second stanza. However, a 7-0 run from the Beavers gave the home team a 28-26 advantage going into the intermission.
A 5-0 run courtesy of a Tj Mills (Dayton/Chaminade-Julienne) triple and two Kylie Brock (Villa Hills, KY/Dixie Heights) freebies gave the home team a comfortable 40-30 lead early in the third quarter. The Beavers kept the fire stoked as they built a 50-36 advantage heading into the final stanza.
An offensive drought for the Beavers allowed Alma to trim the deficit to just seven (56-49) with three and a half minutes left in regulation. Six foul shots helped Bluffton secure the 62-49 victory on a rare Monday night of basketball in the Sommer Center.
Bluffton was led by Mills and Brianna Gillig (New Riegel) who put up 14 points apiece. Sophomore Emma Saltzman (Arcadia) pitched in 11 points and 10 boards off the bench for her first career double double! Shardo spread the floor with three makes from distance for nine points and five rebounds in her collegiate opener.
The Beavers hit 18-of-56 (32.1 percent) field goals, but just 5-for-22 (22.7 percent) from distance. Bluffton connected on 21-of-29 (72.4 percent) at the line. The home team also pulled down 11 more boards (48-37), while both teams coughed it up 14 times.
The women are back in action of Saturday, Nov. 16, when they head to Olivet College in Michigan. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.
2019-20 season preview
The Bluffton University women's basketball team had its share of ups and downs in 2018-19 following the graduation of all-time greats Macey Sheerer and Kaycee Rowe, but the Beavers battled their way to a sixth straight berth in the Heartland Conference tournament. Consistency will be the primary focus in 2019-20 as the Beavers won two games in a row just twice last season.
Back for her final season is three-time All-HCAC honoree Tj Mills (Dayton/Chaminade-Julienne) who led the Beavers and was fifth in the conference with 14.8 PPG. She was also second in the HCAC with 3.8 assists per game. She collected Second Team All-HCAC recognition after earning honorable mention as a sophomore and HCAC Freshman of the Year honors following the 2016-17 campaign. Mills has moved up to 18th on the career scoring list with 854 points during her first three years as a Beaver. She is 7th all-time with 270 career assists and her 151 steals (10th all-time) have Mills on pace to move to the top of the charts next year.
Junior guards Nora Hemminger (McComb) and Kylie Brock (Villa Hills, KY/Dixie Heights) put up 7.2 and 5.3 PPG, respectively. Hemminger dished out 39 assists last season and Brock went off for a career-high 29 points at Manchester after dumping in 18 points at rival Defiance.
Senior Dj Keesey (Cadiz/Harrison Central) gives the Beavers experience in the post having played in 53 games during her tenure at Bluffton. Junior Abbie Parkins (Bluffton) is a tenacious defender and she pulled down 4.3 RPG while starting 21 games in 2018-19. Sophomore post Emma Saltzman (Arcadia) averaged 3.4 PPG and 3.5 RPG in her first season as a Beaver.
Breanna Gillig (New Riegel) started from day one and the conference took notice as she was named to the All-Freshman Team. She finished the year 6th in the conference with 7.1 RPG, while her 10.5 PPG were 2nd for the Beavers. The talented forward hit 103-of-240 from the field for 42.9 shooting on the season. Gillig had her finest day at Hanover in the Heartland Conference tournament when she hit 11-of-17 from the field for a career-high 22 points.
The Beavers head to Mount St. Joseph for the Heartland Conference opener on Wednesday, Dec. 4. Olivet, Cairn and Westminster come to town for the 7th annual McDonald's Holiday Tournament on December 28-29.
Bluffton welcomes rival Defiance as half of a Senior Night treat on Wednesday, Feb. 19, before wrapping up the regular season at Transylvania on February 22.
