BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University women's basketball team led wire-to-wire in a convincing 86-63 victory over visiting Earlham College on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. Bluffton improved to 10-11 overall and 6-8 in the Heartland Conference, while Earlham dipped to 1-20 and 0-14 in the HCAC.
In a preview of things to come, junior Alexis Stevely (Marion/Wynford) drained a triple just 23 seconds into the game. Senior Madison Brown (Montpelier/North Central) followed with four straight counters for a quick 7-0 lead less than four minutes after the opening whistle. She then sandwiched two more buckets around a Lacie Fenstermaker (Leipsic/Pandora-Gilboa) tip-in for a 13-5 advantage. Freshmen Karlie Niekamp (Tipp City/Fort Recovery) and Macee Heckathorn (Kenton) knocked down jumpers late in the opening stanza on the way to a 17-13 edge after period one.
Niekamp was the story in the second quarter. She hit all five of her field goal attempts, including a triple, for 11 points in just seven minutes! Brown cashed in with all four of her free throws for six points, while Fenstermaker and Kacey Like (McComb) both chipped in four points as Bluffton forged a commanding 45-22 spread at the break.
Taking the baton from Niekamp, Stevely had a quarter to remember as she went 6-of-7 from downtown for 18 of Bluffton's 25 points in the third quarter!
Erin Schaufelberger (Van Wert) got to the rack early in the fourth frame, putting Bluffton up 72-47 with just over nine minutes to play. Mackenzea Townsend (Union City/Mississinawa Valley) and Heckathorn combined for 10 of Bluffton's next 12 points before Schaufelberger tied a bow on Bluffton's 86-63 victory that kept the Beavers in contention for a berth in the upcoming Heartland Conference tournament.
Stevely came up one shy in her pursuit of Kyla Columber's school record for three-pointers. She hit 7-of-12, including six in a white-hot third quarter, on the way to a career-high 23 points! Brown put together her 14th career double-double with 15 points and a game-high 13 boards. She also stuffed the stat sheet with six assists. Niekamp tallied 13 points on 6-of-7 from the field, while Fenstermaker chipped in with eight markers and nine rebounds. Junior Jessica Moore (Trenton/Edgewood) dished out a career-best eight dimes, all in the first half.
Bluffton hit 34-of-68 from the field (50 percent), including 8-of-20 (40 percent) outside the arc. The Beavers were an efficient 10-of-12 (83.3 percent) at the stripe. The home team pulled down 16 more boards (50-34), but it also turned the ball over four more times (13-9).
The Bluffton women travel to Lexington, Ky., for a 2 p.m. meeting with HCAC-leading Transylvania University on Saturday, Feb. 7, as part of a Beaver doubleheader with the Pioneers.
-BEAVERS-