Macey Sheerer is Bluffton's leading scorer but is just one of the team's many offensive weapons. Photo by Burton Andrews

By Greg Chandler

After many years of struggle, the 2015-16 season has been a magical ride for the Bluffton women's basketball team.

The Beavers, who set a school record for victories a year ago with 18, could top that mark this week - with about a month of the season still left to play. The HCAC leaders remained unbeaten at 17-0, 10-0 in conference play, with wins last week over Defiance, 76-70, and Franklin, 75-56. The 17-0 start has propelled Bluffton into the D3hoops.com Top 25 for the first time in school history at No. 21.

It's been a season 11 years in the making for Bluffton head coach Chad Shutler. When he arrived at the school in 2005, he took over a program that had won only 10 games the previous four seasons. Improvement came in small steps - four wins in Shutler's first season, followed by six, then 10, then 15. After sliding back to 8-16 in 2009-10, Bluffton began the slow climb back.

This year, led by a deep and experienced senior class of six players, the Beavers have hit on all cylinders from the outset. After opening the season by winning a tournament at Buffalo State, Bluffton made an early statement in its conference opener by knocking off defending HCAC champion Transylvania, 65-61.

"It's been an uphill climb to get where we are," Shutler said. "This has been a byproduct of hard work and commitment."

It's also been a testament to Bluffton's emphasis on team play. The Beavers have had a different leading scorer in each of their last six games. Against Defiance, junior center Rachel Beining scored 19 points, while sophomore Kaycee Rowe poured in 27 points, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range, in the win over Franklin.

"That's a trademark of our team. We're sharing the ball," Shutler said. "The kids are so unselfish. They don't care who's scoring, as long as somebody is."

Sophomore guard Macey Sheerer leads the Beavers at 13.5 points while shooting an HCAC-best 60 percent from the field, with Beining at 11.8 and Rowe at 11.6. Seniors Kaitlyn Pennekamp, Taylor Whitaker, and Taylor Knight are also capable scorers as well.

Bluffton currently holds a two-game lead over Rose-Hulman in the HCAC race, but Shutler is taking nothing for granted as the second round of conference play begins.

"We've still got a lot of games left to play. We've got some tough competition ahead, but we believe our best basketball is ahead of us," he said.

Capital tightens up OAC women's race

Just when Ohio Northern seemed in control of the OAC women's race, the Capital Crusaders said "not so fast."

The Crusaders used a strong defensive effort to shut down the Polar Bears Saturday, leading to a 58-45 win over then-No. 11 ONU. The win pulled Capital (8-2 OAC, 15-2 overall) within one game of Ohio Northern (9-1, 14-3) in the OAC race and moved the Crusaders up four notches in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25 poll to No. 13.

Capital dominated from the outset, jumping out in front 17-7 after one quarter and limiting the Polar Bears to 28 percent shooting and holding them 28 points below their season average. Kristen Thompson led the Crusaders with 15 points and eight rebounds.

TMC's Moss lights up Waynesburg – again

Two years ago, Thomas More's Sydney Moss set an NCAA Division III women's scoring record with 63 points against PAC rival Waynesburg.

The reigning Division III Player of the Year continued her domination against the Yellow Jackets Friday, scoring 41 points, including nine 3-pointers, as No. 1-ranked TMC demolished Waynesburg 119-80. Moss has averaged 38.6 points per game in six games against Waynesburg during her career. Abby Owings added 17 points as Thomas More improved to 10-0 in the PAC and 16-0 overall.

Thomas More has gone over the 100-point mark four times in its last seven games.

Bishops hold on to NCAC lead

Ohio Wesleyan maintained a one-game lead over Wooster in the NCAC men's race after a pair of conference wins last week. The Bishops, ranked 7th nationally by D3hoops.com, downed Oberlin 81-69 and Denison 82-76 to run their record to 16-1, 9-1 in conference play.

Junior center Ben Simpson continued his strong play inside. His 15-point, 10-rebounds effort against Oberlin was his eighth double-double of the season, and he followed that with 19 points and seven boards against the Big Red, earning NCAC Player of the Week honors.

Wooster kept pace with an 89-60 romp over Allegheny and a 73-56 defeat of DePauw, improving to 8-2 in the NCAC.

Defiance evens up HCAC men's race with road win at MSJ

It's all square in the HCAC men's race between Defiance and Mount St. Joseph after the Yellowjackets went on the road to beat MSJ Saturday in Cincinnati, 71-67.

The win avenged an earlier home loss for Defiance against the Lions, pulling them even in the conference race at 8-2.

Tyler Alexander was outstanding for Defiance, missing just one of 11 shots from the field in scoring a game-high 22 points. He had plenty of help from Michael Parker and Adam Ney, who each hit four three-point shots in scoring 12 points apiece, and Wade Wooley grabbed 14 rebounds to go along with 11 points. The Yellowjackets owned the glass by a whopping 41-22 margin.

Alma men stay on top in MIAA

There was no letdown for the Alma Scots following their wins over traditional MIAA powers Hope and Calvin.

The Scots ran their winning streak to nine and maintained sole possession of first place in the MIAA with wins last week over Trine, 96-91, and Albion, 75-64. Alma, which moved up to No. 15 in this week's Top 25, needed overtime against Trine after blowing an early 32-9 lead. Trevor Gernaat scored six of his 19 points in the extra period to lead the Scots to the win. Hope remained one game behind Alma heading into its Wednesday showdown with traditional rival Calvin with wins over Adrian and Kalamazoo.

Hope women turn Calvin rivalry game into runaway

Hope and Calvin entered last Wednesday's game in Holland tied for first in the MIAA women's standings.

But by the time the night was over, the unbeaten and No. 4 Flying Dutch had posted a dominating 79-47 win, shooting 49 percent from the field, outrebounding Calvin 55-30 and limiting the then-No. 15 Knights to 29 percent shooting from the floor. Freshman Francesca Buchanan led Hope with 16 points, seven rebounds and four steals off the bench, while All-American Maura McAfee ripped down 14 rebounds.

Three nights later, Hope had its closest call yet this season, gutting out a 65-61 road win at Trine as Elizabeth Perkins scored 10 of her 14 points in the fourth quarter. Brandi Dawson helped the Thunder make a game out of it with a 21-point effort.

OAC, NCAC partner to honor Capital coach for Suits and Sneakers Week

OAC and NCAC men's teams are partnering this week to raise funds and awareness of cancer during Suits and Sneakers Week to honor Capital head coach Damon Goodwin.

Members of all 20 OAC and NCAC teams will raise funds through Saturday in the name of Goodwin, who is battling leukemia and took a leave of absence from the Crusaders last fall to focus on his battle. The weeklong event is part of the National Association of Basketball Coaches' Suits and Sneakers Week, which promotes cancer awareness and raises funds for research.

The funds raised during the week will be donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) in Goodwin's name. In addition, OAC and NCAC coaches will be wearing orange ties and sneakers during Saturday's games.

All donations are tax deductible and go to support LLS research, patient services, advocacy, education, and community services. Please visit lls.org to for more information and to donate online.

Shoutouts

Hilbert's Jerame Owens topped not one, but two career milestones in the Hawks' 101-79 win Sunday over Mount Aloysius. The senior forward scored 13 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, putting him over the 1,500-point mark and the 1,000-rebound plateau for his career. He's the first player in school history to exceed both milestones.

Anderson's Nathaniel Acree became the school's career three-point shooting leader, hitting six threes on his way to a 28-point performance in the Ravens' 96-80 win over Manchester. Acree now has 175 career triples. Anderson followed the Manchester win with a wild 106-100 triple overtime win over Hanover, as Stanley Duncan led AU with 33 points.

Denison women's standout Jordan Holmes isn't just a shot-blocking machine. She's got a pretty good shooting touch as well. Holmes hit 18 of 21 shots from the field last week in leading the first-place Big Red to wins over Hiram and Ohio Wesleyan. She set a school record with a perfect 10-for-10 performance from the field in the 58-42 win over OWU, and is now shooting 70.4 percent from the field.

Allegheny's Kaitlyn Fromknecht had her own block party going on last week against Wooster, blocking eight shots to become the Gators' record holder for blocked shots in a season (72) and career (164).

Got a story idea?

It's a joy hearing about the success stories that are occuring around the Great Lakes this season, but I'm always interested in hearing what's going on in your neck of the woods. If there's a story you think we should follow, shoot me an e-mail at gchandler@d3hoops.com.

Around the Great Lakes was written by Greg Chandler during the 2015-16 season. He is a veteran journalist and broadcaster who has followed Division III basketball for more than 25 years. He has called Hope basketball for radio, including the 2006 national championship run, and served as the first publicist for the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association.