FRANKLIN, Ind. - The Bluffton University women's basketball team saw its season come to an end with an 83-59 loss at Franklin College in the first round of the HCAC Tournament on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. Bluffton wrapped up the year with an 11-15 mark, while Franklin improved to 20-6 heading to the HCAC semi-finals against Anderson next Friday at Transylvania.
Bluffton trailed 4-0 before an 11-3 spurt put the visitors up 11-7 midway through the first period. Madison Brown (Montpelier/North Central) opened the scoring with a triple and she scored seven of the first 11. Junior Alexis Stevely (Marion/Wyndford) and sophomore Mackenzea Townsend (Union City/Mississinawa Valley) added two points apiece in the opening five minutes. A Stevely triple put Bluffton up 14-13 before Brown and Townsend buckets made it 18-18 after one quarter.
Junior Rachel Clark (Lima/Bath) sandwiched five points around a Brown jumper, pulling the visitors within a point at 34-33, but seven Grizzly markers over the final 2:46 of the first half made it 41-33 at the break.
Franklin opened the second half with a 22-8 jag, effectively putting the game on ice (63-41) at the 3:02 mark of the third stanza. A Clark trifecta made it 63-44 with 10 minutes to play.
Back-to-back deuces by freshman Macee Heckathorn (Kenton) followed by a Clark basket trimmed the deficit to 66-52, but eight Franklin points pushed the spread to 74-52 with 5:26 on the clock. Senior Lacie Fenstermaker (Leipsic/Pandora-Gilboa) hit from distance at the 4:42 mark and then she knocked down a two-pointer with just over two minutes to play, but the #2 seed Grizzlies were too much as the home team secured a comfortable 83-59 victory.
Townsend ripped down a career-best 15 boards on the way to her first collegiate double-double as the sophomore bucketed 10 points. She also added a pair of blocks. Clark just missed out on a double-double with 13 points and nine caroms. Heckathorn equaled her career-best with 10 boards and she tallied six points. Brown chimed in with 15 points in her final game as a Beaver.
Bluffton hit 25-of-68 from the field (36.8 percent), including 6-for-23 (26.1 percent) outside the arc. The Beavers were just 3-of-8 (37.5 percent) at the line. The visitors pulled down 13 more rebounds (52-39), but the Grizzlies forced Bluffton into a whopping 17 more miscues (25-8). Franklin capitalized with 27 points off turnovers.
Continue to check the Bluffton Women's Basketball webpage over the coming weeks for the All-Heartland Conference awards and updated record books.
-BEAVERS-