Tiger Women Open Tournament With Win Over Bluffton

San Antonio - The eighth-ranked Trinity Tigers opened their Texas Challenge with an 84-67 victory Monday over the Bluffton Beavers in Sams Gym.

Trinity (7-1) will take on the Wisconsin-Stout Blue Devils at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Mary Hardin-Baylor beat the Blue Devils 74-63 in the first game of the tournament.

Four Tigers scored in double figures, paced by sophomore forward Abby Dietert of Cibolo, Texas (Steele), with 21 points. Dietert shot 9-14 from the field, and sank all three free throw attempts. She had three rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Junior guard Danielle Hubenak of San Antonio (Churchill) added 12 points, hitting 4-8 from the field, 1-4 in 3-pointers, and going 3-3 at the line. Hubenak produced three assists, three steals, and made two rebounds.

Junior guard Claire Gerall of Houston (Kinkaid) had 11 points, hitting 4-7 from the field, 2-4 beyond the arc, and 1-2 free throws. Gerall also had two rebounds and a steal. Sophomore forward Kelsey Goodell of Portland, Ore. (Lincoln), contributed 10 points (4-8 from the field), and a team-best six rebounds, along with three blocked shots. Senior post Alexandra Blake of Belleville, Ill. (John Burroughs), was the game's assists leader, with six, while scoring three points.

The Tigers led 41-35 at halftime, outshooting the Beavers 53 percent to 44 percent. Trinity started the contest with an 11-0 run. Bluffton did not make a bucket until 16:24 in the first half. The Tigers led by as much as 17 points, 27-10, at 11:14. Bluffton closed the score to 26-31, with 5:17 remaining. In the second half,  the Tigers held as much as a 21-point advantage, with the Beavers getting no closer than five points.

Trinity finished the game at 44 percent shooting, to 38 percent for Bluffton. The Tigers forced 23 turnovers, while making only 12. Bluffton held a 39-34 advantage in rebounding.

Bluffton (3-8) was led by Kim Miller's 17 points, and a game-leading nine rebounds.