By Mallory Kemper, sports information assistant
The Bluffton University women's basketball team traveled to Earlham College on Saturday, February 19, to take on the Quakers in Heartland Conference action. Bluffton took a 36-24 lead at the break and held on to win, 75-58, over the Quakers. Bluffton ended the season with a 10-15 record overall, including a 7-11 mark in the HCAC. Earlham finished a disappointing 0-25 overall and 0-18 in their first season as a member of the Heartland Conference.
Back-to back three-pointers by Brittany Lewis (Springfield/Shawnee) and Kim Meyer (Milbury/Lake) gave Bluffton an early 6-0 lead at the 18:04 mark. Another triple by Meyer at the 16:35 mark gave Bluffton a 9-0 advantage.
At the 16:19 mark Earlham got on the board with a Bria Sneed jumper. Three minutes later a Kate Franks triple pulled the Quakers within three (12-9). Rachel Daman (Defiance/Tinora) made a bucket at the 10:23 mark to push Bluffton back ahead by five.
With a couple of free throws by Lauren Hutton (New Riegel) at the 7:03 mark, Bluffton went ahead 22-15. With two seconds left in the opening period, Alicia Amis (Woodstock/Mechanicsburg) drained a trifecta to close the half with a 36-24 lead.
The Quakers started the second period with back-to-back triples from Princess Darnell and Franks before a Sneed layin cut the Earlham deficit to four (36-32) with 17:25 to play in the second half.
A layin from Charvonne Long brought the Quakers within three, the closest they were since 8:06 in the first half. A 7-0 run by the Beavers, which included layins from Kim Miller (Delphos/St. John's) and Hutton, gave Bluffton a 46-35 lead at the 13:48 mark.
A Sneed chip shot at the 10:11 mark pulled the Quakers within six, but an 8-0 spurt by Bluffton with a couple of freebies and a layin from Kyle Burkholder (West Unity/Hilltop) gave the visitors a commanding 15-point cushion with less than seven minutes to play. The Beavers were too much to handle as they pulled away for a 75-58 victory to close out the 2010-11 season.
Bluffton hit 22-of-53 (41.5 percent) from the field, while the Quakers made just 15-of-47 (31.9 percent). Earlham committed 21 turnovers while the Beavers had 16 miscues. Both teams were even on the boards as they collected 36 caroms. The Beavers were an impressive 26-of-32 (81.3 percent) from the charity stripe, while the home team went 22-of-30 (73.3 percent).
The Beavers had three players in double digits. Rachel Daman led all scorers with 17 points on 6-of-12 from the field while dishing out three assists. Hutton had 15 markers on 5-of-7 shooting and she collected eight rebounds. Miller added 14 counters on 4-of-8 from the floor with nine rebounds.
Bria Sneed paced the Quakers with 22 points on 6-of-14 from the field and 8-of-13 from the line. Charvonne Long added 11 markers and collected five rebounds.
Rose-Hulman's victory over Mount St. Joseph this afternoon sends the Engineers into the Heartland Conference tournament as the sixth seed. Bluffton ended its season tied with MSJ for seventh place in the HCAC.
