BLUFFTON, OH – The Bluffton University women's basketball team pulled out an exciting 52-46 win over No. 2 seed Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology on Saturday evening at the Sommer Center to win the 2016 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament Championship. With the victory, Bluffton earned the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament set to begin next week.

The Beavers held a 35-15 lead at the half and saw the lead shrink to three late in the contest, but was able to convert at the foul line down the stretch to put the contest out of reach. Bluffton's hot first half shooting helped the Beavers build a lead that the Engineers could not overcome, securing the school's first women's basketball HCAC tournament title. 

Leading the way for Bluffton was senior guard Kaitlyn Pennekamp (Hamilton, Ohio/Ross).  The senior scored 14 points and connected on five of her 10 field goal attempts, earning the tournament Most Valuable Player award. Junior center Rachel Beining (Ottoville, Ohio/H.S.) added five points with 11 rebounds in the win and was named to the all-tournament squad.  Senior guard Taylor Knight (Perrysburg, Ohio/H.S.) also earned a spot on the all-tournament team, netting seven points with three assists in the title game.

Junior forward Josie Schmidt (Eighty Four, Pa./Ringgold) scored a team-high 10 points, on 4-of-9 shooting, for the Engineers in the championship game, claiming a spot on the all-tournament team.  Sophomore guard Alyzia Dilworth (Grand Rapids, Mich./Catholic Central) joined Schmidt on the all-tournament squad, scoring 18 points in RHIT's semifinal win over Franklin Friday night.

Transylvania University's Celia Kline (Madeira, Ohio/H.S.) earned the final spot on the all-tournament team for her efforts this week.

Bluffton, under head coach Chad Shutler, improved to 25-2 and will make the trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time in school history.

The announcement of the Division III women's basketball field will be presented via webcast on www.ncaa.com beginning at 2:30 PM Monday.