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The Bluffton University women's basketball team defeated Mount St. Joseph in a huge HCAC contest by the score of 70-63 on Thursday, Jan. 31.

The win pushed Bluffton to 7-13 (5-8 HCAC), while MSJ dropped to 12-8 and 7-6 in the Heartland Conference. Originally slated for Wednesday night, the extreme temperatures that blanketed the Midwest pushed the game back a night.

The offenses started slowly as both teams struggled to hit shots. Freshman Brianna Gillig(New Riegel) bucketed the first four points for a 4-0 Bluffton lead with 6:18 remaining in the first round. MSJ would respond with an 11-2 run to take an 11-6 lead with 2:34 left after a triple by Rachel Moody. Bluffton finished the quarter on a 6-0 run that included two layups by Lj Olverson (Cincinnati/Princeton) to give the Beavers a 12-11 lead after one quarter.

MSJ went up 26-17 with 4:31 left in the second quarter as the Beavers were having trouble stopping the visitors. After trailing 30-20 with just 1:57 left in the first half, Kylie Brock (Villa Hills, Ky.) sparked Bluffton with back-to-back three-point bombs and a steal that led to a Chelsea Moore (Delaware/Olentangy) layup on the other end. The Beavers fought back with 11 straight counters and trailed by just one point at halftime (32-31).

The home team came out on fire in the second half, going up 44-37 with 4:07 left in the third stanza after a layup by Tj Mills(Dayton/Chaminade Julienne). Mills scored seven points in the period to pace the Bluffton offense. After two freebies by Brooklynn Sturwold cut the Beaver led to 44-42, Moore responded with consecutive buckets on the last two possessions of the third quarter for a 48-44 lead after three quarters.

The fourth quarter was the highest scoring period of the night as the Beavers saved their best offense for last, scoring 22 points in the quarter. MSJ scored an impressive 17, but their fight wasn't enough as the home team sealed a 70-63 victory.

Mills led the Beavers with 15 in the game, going 8-of-11 from the charity stripe. She also topped the team with five assists. Gillig recorded a double-double as she scored 14 points (6-of-6 from the free throw line), while also pulling down 13 rebounds as she dominated the glass. Olverson scored 12 off the bench, going 5-of-8 from the field. Brock scored nine, Moore pitched in eight points and six rebounds, and Breanna Graham (Springboro) hit two triples for her six points.

Lainee Studer did it all for the visiting team as she scored 21 points, pulled down 10 rebounds, dished out seven assists, had five steals and tallied four blocks (all team highs!). Sturwold scored 12 for the visitors. Hayley Hudson added nine off the bench while also ripping down nine rebounds.

Bluffton shot 22-of-58 from the floor, making 37.9 percent of their shots. MSJ was a similar 20-for-54 from the floor for 37 percent shooting. From long distance, Bluffton hit 5-of-18 for 27.8 percent, while the visitors finished 11-of-29 for 37.9 percent. Both teams were effective at the free throw line with the Beavers draining 21-of-26 for 80.8 percent, while MSJ converted 12-of-14 (85.7 percent). Bluffton outrebounded MSJ 44-28 and also handed out five more assists (18-13).

The Beavers next contest will take place against the Rose-Hulman Fightin' Engineers on Saturday, Feb. 2, in the first game of a doubleheader that will tip off at 1 P.M. in Terre Haute, Ind. The women are back home for rival Defiance College on Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 6 P.M. Come out and support your Beavers!

MEN'S GAME

The Bluffton University men's basketball team fought off a valiant comeback bid from the Mount St. Joseph Lions and held on for a 72-70 victory on Thursday, Jan. 31.

Although the Beavers and Lions were back and forth throughout most of the first stanza, Bluffton kept the home team deadlocked at 28 for the last 4:15 of the first half and took a 42-28 lead at the break after scoring 17 unanswered points. Bluffton improved to 15-5 overall and 9-4 in the Heartland Conference, while Mount fell to 6-14 overall and 4-9 in the HCAC.

With 6:34 left in the first stanza, MSJ's Brady Thomas hit a layup that knotted the game at 23 before the Beavers started to turn the tide. With 29 seconds remaining in the half sophomore Dezman Brown (Elyria) would nail a three-point shot that gave the Beavers a 40-28 lead with little time remaining in the half. Another Bluffton deuce made it 42-28 at the break.

With the Lions making a late surge that saw the Beaver lead cut to four, junior Brevin Dye (Bedford heights/Trinity) hit from in close for 72-68 lead with 1:35 left in the game. Some stifling Beaver defense would seal a crucial 72-70 victory for Bluffton in the Queen City on a frigid Thursday evening.

Bluffton was led by Dye who put up a career-high 18 points on 9-of-14 shooting while also pulling down two rebounds in the victory. Senior Justis Dowdy (Van Wert/Lincolnview) notched 12 of his own on 5-of-6 shooting and 2-of-3 from three-point land. Jameel Cosby(Springfield/Kenton Ridge) and Brown went for 11 and 10 points, respectively, while Andrew Renner (Cairo/Bath) and Cosby pulled down 10 and eight rebounds for the victors.

The Beavers were a red-hot 30-of-56 from the field for 53.6 percent, including 8-of-21 for 38.1 percent from three-point land. The Lions hit 25-of-59 for 42.4 percent from the field and 13-of-30 from outside the arc (43.3 percent). The visitors ripped down 12 more boards (37-25), but they turned it over four more times (10-6).

Bluffton will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 2, when the Beavers travel to Rose-Hulman to take on the Engineers in an HCAC tilt. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. following the women's contest at 1 p.m.