A pair of familiar faces from Bluffton were recognized when the Heartland Conference handed out its post-season hardware on Thursday, March 5. Senior Tj Mills (Dayton/Chaminade-Julienne) and sophomore Brianna Gillig (New Riegel) both netted Second Team All-HCAC honors following the 2019-20 season.
Mills will leave Bluffton as one of the most prolific players in women's basketball history. A four-time All-HCAC honoree, Mills was Freshman of the Year in 2016-17 and Honorable Mention All-HCAC as a sophomore. She has been a Second Team selection the past two seasons. Mills is Bluffton's all-time leader in steals with 225, nearly 30 more than the previous mark of 196 held by Lisa Wieging for over 20 years! Her 1,189 points and 371 assists place her 3rd all-time as a Beaver. Her 300 free throw makes are 5th all-time. She is 7th all-time with 409 field goals made, while her 71 triples are 11th all-time. Mills is tied for 4th on the career list with 105 games played and her 103 starts are tied with Taylor Knight and Rachel Beining at the top of the record books.
The four-year starting floor general dropped in 12.4 PPG (9th in the conference), while her 3.8 APG and 2.7 SPG led the HCAC. Her 74 steals established a new single-season record at Bluffton and her 101 assists are 11th all-time for a single season. Mills pulled down 3.5 RPG and hit 90-of-125 (.720) at the charity stripe.
Gillig was a force to be reckoned with in her second season at Bluffton after being named to the HCAC All-Freshman Team in 2018-19. She was 3rd in the conference with 16.9 PPG and 8.1 RPG. Her 40 steals and 13 blocks both placed her 3rd on the team. Gillig set a new women's single-season mark with 455 points, giving her 729 (25th all-time) after just two seasons as a Beaver. She came up just shy of Kaycee Rowe's school-record 232 rebounds in a season, pulling down 220 boards as a sophomore. Her 131 makes at the foul line tied her for 3rd all-time.
Bluffton earned the number 5 seed in the Heartland Conference Tournament, making it seven straight trips to the dance for the women's basketball team. Check out the updated record books on the website in the upcoming days.
