By Brandy Bidlack, sports information assistant

The Bluffton University women's basketball fell to Franklin College, 67-62, in Founders Hall on Saturday, January 29. Bluffton dropped to 8-11 overall and 5-7 in the HCAC with the Hall of Fame Day loss to the Grizzlies. Franklin improved to 9-3 in the conference and 15-4 on the season.

Junior Brittany Lewis (Springfield/Shawnee) sparked the Bluffton offense with a layin in the first minute, and following a trey from Brittany Stegmaier (Garfield/Trinity) the Beavers took a quick 5-2 edge over the visitors. Throughout much of the first half the efficient Bluffton offense and tough defense kept the home team in control.

However, at the 5:55 mark a pair of Franklin freebies tied the game at 20. Despite a Lauren Hutton (New Riegel) free throw, Sarah Condra's triple put the visitors in the lead which they pushed to 33-25 at halftime.

Lewis once again tried to ignite the Beavers with her second half trifecta but the tight pressure from the visitors kept Franklin in the lead. Facing a 13-point deficit, Bluffton pushed the ball and quickly gained momentum as Alicia Amis (Woodstock/Mechanicsburg) buried a three-pointer to pull the Beavers within five.

A Lewis make at the charity stripe followed by her drive to the hoop capped an 11-0 Bluffton jag that made the score 64-62 Franklin, but the visitors held on for their ninth HCAC win of the season, 67-62, over Bluffton.

Brittany Stegmaier led the Beavers with 16 points and three rebounds. Kim Miller (Delphos/St. John's) hauled in a game-high 13 boards and two steals, while handing out six assists and chipping in with seven points. Beth Yoder (Marshallville/Smithville) produced 10 points, picked up three rebounds and grabbed two steals. Brittany Lewis chipped in with eight markers, five rebounds and six dimes while Lauren Hutton added 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field.

Bluffton hit 20-of-59 (33.9 percent) from the field, compared to 25-of-50 (50.0 percent) for Franklin. The Beavers went 8-of-23 (34.8 percent) from behind the arc, while the Grizzlies made 7-of-14 (50.0 percent). The home team converted just 14-of-25 (56.0 percent) at the line, while the visitors were 10-of-17 (58.8 percent). Both teams finished with 36 boards and the home team turned it over five fewer times (14-9).

The Bluffton University women's basketball team will resume Heartland Conference action when it travels to conference rival Anderson University on Wednesday, February 2. The battle between the Beavers and the Ravens is slated for 7:30 p.m.