February 15, 2017
By: Colton Steiner, sports information assistant

Stats

RICHMOND, Ind. - The Bluffton University women’s basketball team hit the interstate and took on the Earlham College Quakers in the final regular season road game of the year on Wednesday, Feb. 15. The Beavers took control in the second half and cruised to an 87-61 shellacking. The win pushes Bluffton to 20-4 overall and 14-3 in conference play. Earlham dropped to 2-22 on the season and 2-15 in the HCAC.

Bluffton jumped out to a 10-3 lead when MACEY SHEERER (Bucyrus) buried a jump shot at the 6:35 mark of the first quarter. A bucket by BREANNA GRAHAM (Springboro) put Bluffton up 20-8 just over three minutes later.

The Quakers trimmed their deficit to single digits as Bluffton took a 41-33 lead at the break after outscoring the Beavers 17-16 in period two. The visitors opened up a 57-39 spread after an old fashioned three-point play by TJ MILLS (Dayton/Chaminade-Julienne) with 2:41 left in the third stanza. The Beavers used a 28-18 final quarter en route to win number 20 of the season, the second straight year Bluffton has hit that magical number!

Leading the way for Bluffton were juniors KAYCEE ROWE (Harrod/Allen East) and Macey Sheerer who each dropped in 17 points for the victors. Sheerer, who grabbed seven rebounds, became the 10th Beaver to surpass 1,000 career points early in the first half! Rowe also pulled down six rebounds and dished out four assists. ABIGAIL O’DONNELL (Arcanum) dropped 14 counters on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. RACHEL BEINING (Ottoville) added 12 markers and five rebounds. Freshman Chelsea Moore (Delaware/Olentangy) equaled her career best with a game-high 10 caroms.

The Beavers went 29-of-65 (44.4 percent) from the field and 1-of-8 (12.5 percent) from behind the three-point line. Bluffton attacked the rim, going 28-of-43 from the charity stripe. The Beavers dominated the rebounding battle, 47-32, including 20-8 on the offensive glass. The 46-18 points in the paint margin was a key component to the Bluffton victory.

Bluffton will finish out the regular season against Hanover on Saturday, Feb. 18, with the Senior Day festivities to kick off shortly before the 1 p.m. tip. Come out and support your Beavers as they recognize Rachel Beining, Ashley Salyer (Marion/River Valley) and Jessica Boggan (Cincinnati/Princeton)!

-BEAVERS-