By Josh Bruner, Sports information assistant

Stats http://www.bluffton.edu/sports/womensbasketball/2012/11-19-wb.htm

The Rochester College Warriors battled back from a 19-point first half deficit to upend the Beavers, 66-61, in the 2011 Bluffton Tip-Off Tournament finals on Saturday, Nov. 19. Bluffton dropped to 1-1 on the season, while Rochester improved to 6-4 overall.

Bluffton quickly took control, as the first possession for the Beavers resulted in a Brittany Lewis (Springfield/Shawnee) three-pointer. The Beavers scored the first 14 points of the game before Rochester finally found the bottom of the net at the 15-minute mark when a Sam Tomaschko jumper ended the run.

A Brittany Stegmaier (Garfield/Trinity) triple put Bluffton up 25-12 with 8:24 to play in the half. The Warriors responded with a three-pointer of their own from Abby Schlaegel. The Beavers would not slow down as two Lauren Hutton (New Riegel) free throws followed by two layups and another Stegmaier deep ball gave Bluffton its largest lead of the night, 34-15, with just over four minutes left in the period.

The Warriors took one last shot at the lead in the final minutes of the half. A Tomaschko three at the buzzer pulled the visitors within 11 (39-28) at the break.

Rochester used an 8-0 run to make the score 44-43 with 13 minutes left to play. The Beavers pushed the lead back to five at the 11:33 mark following a Lewis layup. Neither team seemed to have an advantage over the next three minutes as Bluffton maintained the five-point lead at the eight minute mark.

The Warriors once again took control, putting together a 14-0 run over the next four minutes to take their first lead of the night. Bluffton quickly responded as a Beth Yoder (Marshallville/Smithville) three trimmed the deficit to 63-59. However, a pair of free throws with two ticks remaining sealed the 66-61 win for Rochester.

The Beavers' offense was led by sophomore Laruen Hutton who had a career-high 24 points, including 18 in the first half. Hutton was just short of a double-double, pulling in nine boards on the night. Lewis chipped in with 13 markers, while Stegmaier and Rachel Daman (Defiance/Tinora) added eight and seven, respectively. Daman also chipped in with a career-best seven rebounds. Alicia Amis (Woodstock/Mechanicsburg) added career highs of six assists and eight rebounds on the night. Hutton, who led the Beavers with 38 points during the weekend, and Lewis were honored as All-Tournament selections.

The Warriors offense was led by Jazzmone Russel with 18 points. Tomaschko, who was named tournament MVP, added 15 counters and seven rebounds. Ke'ala and Kaimana Ka'aikala both dropped in double digits for Rochester with 14 and 11, respectively. Ke'ala was named to the All-Tournament Team for her efforts over the weekend.

The Beavers started hot, shooting 14-of-30 (46.7 percent) from the field and 5-of-12 (41.7 percent) from behind the arc in the first half. The slow second half for Bluffton proved to be the difference as the home team ended the game 20-of-58 (34.5 percent) and 6-of-21 (28.6 percent) from distance. The Warriors shot 25-of-67 (37.3 percent) from the field, and 11-of-34 (32.4 percent) from behind the arc. The Beavers had the slight advantage on turnovers, only giving up the ball 14 times, compared to the 17 for the Warriors. Rochester pulled down six more boards (46-40) than Bluffton.

The Bluffton University women's basketball team will be back in action on Tuesday, Nov. 22, when the Beavers host Oberlin College in Founders Hall. The contest is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.