By Brandy Bidlack, sports information assistant

The Bluffton University women's basketball team went off for 52 points in the second half to defeat arch-rival Defiance College on Wednesday, January 19, in Founders Hall. The Beavers improved to 7-9 this season with a 4-5 mark in the HCAC following their third win in four games. The Yellow Jackets dipped to 6-10 overall and 4-5 in the conference.

Less than two minutes into the game, the Yellow Jackets had dominated the scoreboard with an 8-0 run against the home team. The Beavers finally added a point with a Kim Miller (Delphos/St. John's) freebie at the 15:53 mark. However, the visitors remained in control for the next five minutes until junior Beth Yoder (Marshallville/Smithville) sank a triple which put the Beavers up 20-19.

With 3:41 remaining in the first half, Defiance regained control with a Tasha Stucke layin (34-33) and the Yellow Jackets kept their pressure up for the rest of the half. The visitors went to the break with a 47-38 lead over Bluffton.

Freshman point guard Kim Meyer (Millbury/Lake) hit a triple to spark the Bluffton comeback just one minute into period two. Sophomore Rachel LeFever (Orrville) put the Beavers on her back with seven points and an assist in less than four minutes midway through the half.

Miller's drive and deuce cut the deficit to one (61-60) and a pair of Brittany Stegmaier (Garfield/Trinity) free throws gave Bluffton the edge. At the 4:20 mark, freshman post Kylee Burkholder (West Unity/Hilltop) added two more points for the home team, giving Bluffton their only double-digit lead, 81-71.

With 23 seconds left on the clock, a Kim Comden layup pulled Defiance within four, 86-82, but the Beaver free throw shooting finished off the Yellow Jackets as Alicia Amis (Woodstock/Mechanicsburg) ended the game 4-for-4 at the charity stripe, giving Bluffton a 90-83 conference win over Defiance College.

Beth Yoder led the Beavers with a career-high 23 points, including a career-best six trifectas which equaled the school record. Miller continued to do it all for the Beavers with 20 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, a career-high six rejections and three steals. Her 20 markers came on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and 6-for-8 at the stripe. Stegmaier added 11 points and snatched seven off the glass. Junior Brittany Lewis (Springfield/Shawnee) established a new career-best with seven dimes in just 18 minutes of action. Francena Tate (Fostoria St. Wendelin) came up big for the Beavers with solid defense and seven points in 14 minutes off the bench.

Bluffton made 29-of-52 (55.8 percent) from the field while Defiance hit 30-of-80 (37.5 percent). The Beavers were a ridiculous 13-of-20 (65 percent) from distance, compared to just 8-of-28 (28.6 percent) for the visitors. The home team hit 19-of-27 (70.4 percent) freebies while the Yellow Jackets made 15-of-21 (71.4 percent) from the charity stripe. Defiance won the battle on the boards (41-38) and turnedit over eight fewer times than the home team (24-16).

The Bluffton University women's basketball team opens round two on its conference trek when the Beavers travel to Transylvania on Saturday, January 22. The matchup between Bluffton and the Pioneers is slated for 2 p.m. in Lexington, Kentucky.