On Saturday, Feb. 10, the Bluffton University men’s and women’s basketball team traveled to Anderson, Ind., to take on the Anderson University Ravens.
The women’s team (17-6, 12-4 HCAC) defeated the Ravens in a blowout 75-54 victory.
Leading the charge for the Beavers was senior Kaycee Rowe (Harrod/Allen East) with her career-high 31 points. Rowe shot extremely well, making 10 buckets on 15 attempts. She also went a perfect 10-10 at the charity stripe.
Following behind Rowe was sophomore guard TJ Mills (Dayton/Chaminade-Julienne) with nine points and freshmen Nora Hemminger (McComb) and Heidi Craddock (Lima/Bath), as well as sophomore DJ Keesey (Harrison/Central), who all had six points apiece.
Bluffton took a two-point halftime lead, 30-28, and entering the second half, the Beavers kept their foot on the gas.
The Beavers put up 29 points in the third quarter and did not look back. Defensive stops and pushing the ball up the court in transition on offense helped Bluffton wear down an Anderson team that only played six girls.
The men’s game (10-13, 7-9 HCAC) followed after the women’s, and they lost in a close one to Anderson, 86-81.
Leading the way for Bluffton was junior forward Justis Dowdy (Van Wert/Lincolnview) who tied his career-high in points with 17 on Saturday afternoon. Following behind him was sophomore guard Andrew Renner (Cairo/Bath) with 16 points and senior captain Kevin Christie (Dayton/Bishop Fenwick) with 13 points and eight assists.
The Beavers took a 44-36 halftime lead over the Ravens. In the second half, though, there was a lid covering their basket.
Bluffton shot the ball extremely well in the first half, shooting 18-29 (62.1 percent) from the field and 3-7 (42.9 percent) from 3-point land. Then in the second half, the tides turned. They went 13-33 (39.4 percent) from the field and 2-8 (25 percent) from the 3-point line.
While the women look to lock up the third seed in their tournament, the men still have a shot to clinch the fifth or sixth seed.
The women play host to the Manchester University Spartans on Feb. 14 in the Sommer Center with tip-off scheduled at 7:30 p.m. The men travel to North Manchester, Ind., to take on the Spartans on their court in their final road game of the regular season.
