The Bluffton women's basketball team struggled from the field on Saturday, falling to the Panthers of Hanover (77-47) on Feb. 11, 2012. The Beavers dropped their second straight and fourth in a row on the road. Bluffton slipped to 8-15 overall and 6-10 in the HCAC. Hanover improved to 18-4 and their 14-2 mark in the HCAC keeps them tied with Franklin for the top spot in the conference.

The Hanover pressure once again got to the Beavers as the Panthers controlled the game right from the tip-off and never let up. The visitors turned it over five times in the first five minutes as the Panthers opened the game on a 14-0 run.

Senior Brittany Lewis (Springfield/Shawnee) then scored the first Bluffton bucket of the game to get the Beavers on the board at the 14:16 mark. A fast-break layup by freshman Brenna Kurilec (Mt. Gilead/Gilead Christian) made it a 10-point spread at 18-8 with 11:38 to play in the half.

The Panthers then picked it up and went on a 10-0 jag, extending their lead to 28-8. The Beavers clawed back to get it down to a 12-point deficit on two makes from the charity stripe by Kylee Burkholder (West Unity/Hilltop). But no matter how hard Bluffton fought, the Panthers were just too much as they pushed the lead back to 18 at 45-27 by halftime.

Throughout the second half, Bluffton could only trim the deficit to as few as 14 points (47-33) as they were outmatched by the conference-leading Panthers. Hanover pulled away late for a 77-47 defeat of the Beavers.

Lauren Hutton (New Riegel), Lewis, and Burkholder each chipped in with 10 points, including seven boards for Hutton and six for Lewis. Elizabeth Miller (Riverside, Iowa/Hesston College) also added in six points off the bench.

Bluffton hit just 17-of-62 from the field for 27.4 percent, including a 0-of-20 performance outside the arc. Hanover shot 26-of-71 for 36.6 percent from the field, but the home team also struggled from behind the arc, going 2-of-22 for 9.1 percent.

The Panthers converted 23-of-32 at the line for 71.9 percent, while the Beavers didn't miss, going 13-of-13 for 100.0 percent. Turnovers again plagued Bluffton as the visitors committed nine more miscues (25-16).

Bluffton travels to Defiance for conference action on Wednesday, Feb. 15. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m.