March 4, 2015
By: Ryan Schadewald, sports information assistant

All-HCAC release

BLUFFTON, Ohio - Three members of the Bluffton University women’s basketball team received postseason honors, putting an exclamation point on a record-breaking season. Macey Sheerer (Bucyrus) was named the Heartland Conference Freshman of the Year for her superb performance this season. Junior Taylor Whitaker (Mansfield/Lexington) was named First Team All-HCAC, while Sheerer garnered Second Team honors to go along with being Freshman of the Year. Junior point guard Taylor Knight (Perrysburg) was selected Honorable Mention.

Taylor Whitaker took her game to another level as a junior en route to earning First Team All-HCAC honors, her first post-season award as a Beaver. Whitaker finished her season averaging 12.6 points per contest. Whitaker was also the only Heartland Conference women’s basketball player to shoot over 90 percent from the free throw line, at a school-record 91.6 percent which was second in the nation for Division 3 women. She also finished the year at 39 percent from beyond the arc, putting her seventh in Bluffton history for 3-point field goal percentage in a season. Her 46 three-pointers also placed her seventh on the list for triples made in a season.

A career-best 341 points moved Whitaker to 15th on the all-time scoring list, just 207 shy of 1,000 points. Her 83.1 free throw percentage is far and away the best ever at Bluffton as Whitaker has converted 211 of her 254 career attempts. Whitaker took home HCAC Player of the Week honors for her play over Christmas break.

Sheerer finished the season averaging 12.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest. She also led the Beavers in field goal percentage, shooting 46.4 percent from the floor. Her 174 rebounds placed her third in the HCAC in total rebounds. Sheerer was the HCAC Player of the Week for her work in late-season wins over MSJ and Rose-Hulman. Macey’s season high for scoring came in Bluffton's HCAC Tournament opening win over Manchester when she dropped in 26 points, a crucial factor in the 57-50 victory.

Taylor Knight was named Honorable Mention All-HCAC for her slick ball handling for the Beavers. She scored 6.7 points per contest, but was second in the conference with 109 assists and was also second with an assist-to-turnover ratio of better than 2:1. Taylor’s 109 dimes ties her for fourth on Bluffton’s all-time list for assists in a season. Knight also led the Beavers in steals with 47 swipes on the season, tying her for 18th on the single season list. Her 258 assists are already sixth on the career list, giving her a legitimate shot at moving up to #2 all-time before she finishes her career at Bluffton.

Bluffton junior Abby jerger (Middletown/Madison) was recognized by the HCAC by being placed on the All-Conference Sportsmanship team for the 2014-15 season. The award has been developed as part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative. Members of the All-HCAC Sportsmanship team are selected by the coaches and their teammates as individuals who demonstrate the ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the court.

-BEAVERS-