Freshman Kyla Columber (Marion/Pleasant) has been named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week in basketball after helping lead the Beavers to victories over Defiance College on Wednesday and Albion College on Saturday.

Columber powered the Bluffton offense with a career-high 26 points in just 17 minutes while setting a new school record on Wednesday night. She connected from long distance eight times on just nine attempts as the Beavers downed Defiance 81-48 in Bluffton's lone HCAC contest of the week. Bluffton also took care of MIAA-power Albion 61-53 on Saturday. Columber netted 14.0 PPG on 10-of-11 shooting for the week (90.9 percent), including 8-of-9 (88.9 percent) on triples.

Bluffton will be back in the Sommer Center for its seventh straight game when the Beavers host Earlham College on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. on the night that classes resume following Christmas break.