Anderson Advances Past Bluffton, Hawkins Breaks School Blocks Record

The Anderson University women's basketball team (7-6) captured a 62-60 victory to advance past Bluffton University (14-6) during Wednesday's Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Tournament quarterfinal in Bluffton, Ohio.

Hannah Hawkins broke the all-time school record in blocked shots. Her four blocked shots during Wednesday's contest boosted her career total to 173, topping the previous record of 170, set by 1990 graduate Kelly Spaulding.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Bluffton opened with an 11-2 lead with 5 minutes, 17 seconds left in the first quarter.
• The Ravens scored the next nine points to even the score at 11-all with 3:29 left in the quarter. Cassie Pallett contributed seven of those points.
• Bluffton scored six points in a row, before Anderson closed out the quarter on a 7-0 run to take an 18-17 lead.
• The largest separation between the two teams in the second quarter was four points. Bluffton held a 30-29 lead at halftime.
• Anderson outscored Bluffton 19-15 in the third quarter.
• Jade Shipley knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Ravens a 55-49 lead with 4:09 left in the fourth quarter.
• With 21 seconds left in the game Lexi Dellinger hit two free throws to put the Ravens ahead by five.
• A 3-pointer from Bluffton's Maddie Fitzpatrick cut Anderson's lead to one point with six seconds to go, but the Ravens hung onto victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Dellinger led the Ravens with 24 points. The junior from Berne knocked down 9-of-10 (90 percent) shots from the free-throw line.
• Hawkins notched 11 rebounds, four blocks and six points for the Ravens.
• Shipley provided 10 points.
• Anderson converted 21-of-56 (37.5 percent) shots from the field while Bluffton hit 18-of-52 (34.6 percent) attempts from the floor.
• The Ravens knocked down 8-of-17 (47.1 percent) shots from 3-point range while the Beavers drained 4-of-9 (44.4 percent) attempts from the perimeter.

COACH LINDSAY SHADE'S COMMENTS

• I am incredibly proud of our team for this gritty win. It is never easy to win on the road and to do it against a good Bluffton team definitely required us to play well. We got contributions up and down the lineup and we played with a lot of poise in the second half.  Our coaching staff is so proud of each one of the players.
• Hannah Hawkins was outstanding on the defensive end of the court. Bluffton changed some things offensively trying to get her out of the paint. I thought Hannah adjusted really well and impacted several of their shots, while also cleaning up the defensive boards.
• We have a few hours to feel good about things and then turn our focus to the semifinal round against an outstanding Transylvania program.

UP NEXT

Anderson challenges Transylvania University (12-6) in the HCAC Tournament Semifinals on Saturday at 4 p.m. in Lexington, Ky.