Bluffton Hands Anderson Loss in HCAC Tournament

Fifth-seeded Bluffton University handed the fourth-seeded Anderson University women's basketball team in the Opening Round of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Tournament loss on Tuesday in O.C. Lewis Gymnasium.

Bluffton (14-12) started with a 17-10 lead after the first quarter and held a 32-22 lead at halftime. The Beavers held a 38-22 advantage against the Ravens (11-15) with 8 minutes, 1 second left in the third quarter. During the next 13:38, Anderson put together a 17-5 run to cut the deficit to 43-39 with 4:23 left in the game. Both teams went scoreless during the next four minutes. Nora Hemminger drained to a pair of free throws to pull the Beavers away from the Ravens.

"I am at a loss for words right now because there are so many different emotions," Coach Linday Shade said. "Let me start off by giving credit to Bluffton. They had a great game plan coming in and put us on our heels a little bit in the first half. Our players responded really well out of halftime and it was our defense that gave us a chance. It was outstanding in the second half. We cut it to four and had some open looks near the rim, but couldn't get one to fall. It is disappointing because we aren't ready for it to be over. But I am incredibly proud of our players and the way they have progressed over the course of the season."

Bluffton hit 17-of-22 (77.3 percent) shots from the free-throw line, while Anderson knocked down 6-of-7 (85.7 percent) attempts from the charity stripe.

The Ravens converted 16-of-53 (30.2 percent) shots from the field and 3-of-13 (23.1 percent) attempts from 3-point range. Bluffton made 13-of-52 (25 percent) shots from the floor and 4-of-16 (25 percent) attempts from the perimeter.

Lexi Dellinger led the Ravens with 25 points. The 5-foot-5 sophomore guard from Berne drained 3-of-6 (50 percent) shots from behind the arc.

Hanna Ault pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds. Mariah Clemons paced the Ravens with three blocks. Payton Moore contributed eight points. Hannah Hawkins tallied four points. Clemons and Carly Hackler rounded out the scoring effort with two points each.

The Ravens made their first appearance in the HCAC Tournament since the 2009-10 season. Anderson also put together its winningest season since the 2008-09 season. The Ravens graduate seniors Hackler, Audrey May and Luke Martin, who were all essential in the program's recent ascension.

"I want to acknowledge Audrey, Carly, and Luke who represent our senior class. Their freshman year, our mission statement was 'fiercely determined to improve while laying the foundation of a championship culture.' Over the past four years, those three seniors have deeply invested in the program and, with a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, laid the foundation of a championship culture. I have a visual in my head of an actual concrete foundation. This season, we took some major steps forward as a program, and I believe a championship is in our future. Those three seniors will leave our program knowing they are a part of everything that happens moving forward because it's built upon that foundation we committed to four years ago."