By Josh Bruner, sports information assistant

The Bluffton University women's basketball team was unable to find any offensive rhythm for the second consecutive game as Franklin scored a 57-45 win over the Beavers on Saturday, December 11, 2010. Bluffton fell to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the Heartland Conference. The Grizzlies improved to 5-3 on the season and 2-2 in the HCAC.

The teams proved to be even through the start of the game with neither squad to be able to pull away from the other. Brittany Stegmaier (Garfield/Trinity) put in the first bucket for the Beavers at the 18:23 mark to tie the game at two.

The Beavers made a move at the 15-minute mark as a Kim Miller (Delphos/St. John's) layup gave the visitors a four-point lead. Stegmaier added a deuce two minutes later to give the Beavers a six-point margin with a score of 12-6.

The Grizzlies went on a 15-1 run over the next six minutes to give the home team a 21-13 lead with six and a half minutes left in the half.

The Beavers put together some offense following the run as a Rachel Daman (Defiance/Tinora) three followed by a Lauren Hutton (New Riegel) free throw brought Bluffton back within four (21-17) with under five minutes left in the half.

Franklin responded by taking its first double-digit lead of the game (28-17) with two minutes left in the half. The Beavers only managed a bucket by Hutton before the period expired as they went into the break trailing the Grizzlies 28-19.

Bluffton started the second half with a Daman trifecta, cutting the deficit to six points at 28-22. The Grizzlies slowly started to pull away from Bluffton once again, reclaiming their 12-point spread at the 16:22 mark with a Krista Schott layup.

With the Beavers trailing 47-39, Franklin went on a 7-0 spurt over the next five minutes and took a 54-39 lead after two Krista Beaman free throws. The home team never looked back en route to a 57-45 shutdown of Bluffton.

Junior Brittany Stegmaier was one of two Beavers in double figures with 12 points and five rebounds. Fellow junior Rachel Daman dropped in 12 points on 3-of-4 shooting from behind the arc. She also pulled down four rebounds. Sophomore Lauren Hutton collected a game-high 12 caroms to go along with her eight markers, while senior Kim Miller pulled down nine boards.

Bluffton hit just 15-of-52 shots from the field (28.8 percent), but Franklin was not much better at 19-of-54 (35.2 percent). The Beavers struggled mightily at the line, converting only 10-of-22 freebies for 45.5 percent, while the home team cashed in on 17-of-24 attempts from the stripe (70.8 percent). Franklin finished with two more rebounds (43-41) and one less turnover (15-14) than the Beavers. The home team handed out six more dimes than Bluffton (11-5).

The Beavers return to action in one week when they host The College of Wooster on Saturday, Dec. 18. The contest is slated for 2 p.m. in Founders Hall.