BLUFFTON, OHIO-- Trine fell to Bluffton 75-62 in the championship game of the Bluffton Holiday Tournament Sunday evening in the Somner Center.
A hot start by the Beavers proved too much for Trine to overcome, as Bluffton shot 57 percent (16-of-28) in the first half while holding Trine to a 33 percent clip (10-of-30). Taylor Whitaker came off the bench to lead four Beavers in double-figures with 15 points. Whitaker added five rebounds and three assists. Amy Newell (Three Rivers, Mich.) led the Thunder in scoring for the second-consecutive contest, notching 15 points to go along with nine rebounds. Newell and Kelsey Henselmeier (Martinsville, Ind.) were each named to the All-Tournament Team. Newell averaged 20.5 points and seven rebounds per game, while Henselmeier averaged 13.5 points and seven assists in tournament play. Trine falls to 3-8 overall and will not play a non-conference contest the rest of the regular-season. Bluffton improves to 6-4 overall.
Henselmeier scored 12 points on 3-of-6 shooting and dished out six assists for Trine in the contest. Kayla Dunn (Columbia City, Ind.) notched a season-high nine points, while Megan Engle (Parker City, Ind.) also added nine points to go along with three rebounds. The Thunder shot 37 percent overall (19-of-52) and hit 21-of-33 from the charity stripe (64 percent).
Rachel Beining provided muscle inside for Bluffton with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting to go along with nine rebounds. Taylor Knight hit all four of her field goal attempts on her way to scoring 13 points and dishing out six assists. Belicia Cooper added 10 points. The Beavers hit 47 percent of their field goal attempts (27-of-57).
Bluffton came out firing on all cylinders in the first half, leading by as many as 17 prior to halftime. The Beavers outscored Trine 24-10 in the paint in the first half. After trailing 39-22 with 4:40 remaining in the first half, the Thunder went on an 11-4 run to close the halftime deficit to 43-33. Henselmeier scored six points, while Newell added five for the Thunder scoring during the run.
That hot start by Bluffton proved too much for Trine to overcome, despite the two teams playing nearly even in the second half. The Thunder were able to cut the Beaver lead to 65-59 with 5:31 to play after a 7-0 run. Katelyn Sager (Kell, Ill.) converted an old-fashioned three-point play, while Dunn and Henselmeier each swished a pair of free throws to provide the offense during the run.
That was as close as the Thunder would get however, as Bluffton outscored Trine 10-3 the rest of the way.
Trine will return to conference play Saturday, Jan. 4 when they host MIAA-power Hope at 3:00 p.m. in Hershey Hall.