By RICK SPRUNGER
Bluffton’s girls won as expected Saturday afternoon, defeating Adams Central, 67-54, at the Tiger Den.
The manner of victory, however, was not expected.
Bluffton needed a big second-half rally to overcome an eight-point deficit to secure the win.
Bluffton improved to 11-1 overall and to 4-0 in Allen County Athletic Conference play with the win.
Adams Central, losing for the fourth straight time, fell to 1-3 in the conference and 3-9 overall.
Trailing 37-29, Bluffton launched a 24-1 scoring run between the 4:45 mark of the third quarter and the 6:23 mark of the fourth that completely turned the game around.
Bluffton coach Doug Curtis attributed his team’s second-half charge to its defense.
“Madyson Sonnigsen played very well for us,” said Curtis. “She had a lot of tips and knockaways that created good runout opportunities for us.”
During that nearly seven-minute surge, Bluffton forced nine Adams Central turnovers while allowing just five Jet shots at the basket, all of them misses.
Bluffton was on top, 53-38 before Adams Central finally ended its scoring drought from the field. But the Tigers continued to turn up the defensive pressure and built their lead up to 62-43 with 2:39 left.
Meanwhile, Isabella Stout scored 15 of her game-high 18 points during the second half to spearhead the Bluffton offensive attack. Sonnigsen herself connected on four three-pointers, three of them in the second half, and finished with 13 points.
It all started with the first of Sonnigsen’s second-half three-pointers.
The Tigers forced a turnover on the baseline, and Stout canned a pair of free throws. Then, after an Ava Stafford miss, Marly Drayer connected from deep to tie the game at 37-37.
Adams Central followed with four straight turnovers, two of them steals by Sonnigsen, and the Tigers made them pay with a Sonnigsen three, a breakaway layup and one of two free throws by Stout that made it 43-37.
Ashlyn Doster hit one of two free throws for the Jets, but Sonnigsen countered with a three-pointer and Stout two free throws around a Drayer steal for a 47-38 score at the break.
Three more Adams Central turnovers and another six Bluffton points to start the fourth period kicked the margin out to 53-38.
But for two and a half quarters, Adams Central made Bluffton sweat, and the Jets did it without not one but two starters on the floor.
Alexa Brotherton missed the game with a bad Achilles tendon, and Grace Fisher exited four minutes into the contest with a back problem.
Fisher did not re-enter the contest until midway through the fourth period and only stayed for two minutes before coming out for good.
Of course, Bluffton was also playing without a starter, Konley Ault.
Kate Fisher picked up the slack for Adams Central, knocking down five straight three-point shots to lead the visitors to that 37-29 advantage.
“They shot the three about as well as possible,” said Curtis of an Adams Central team that finished the game 10-for-16 from the arc. “We were giving them too many open looks.”
We did some good things in the first half,” said Adams Central coach Kyle Roe. “We were physical, but we got into some foul trouble. Kate (Fisher) has the ability to hit the three-pointer, and they recognized that and took it away from her defensively.”
Fisher hit three of her threes in the first quarter and another in the second.
Then Athena Schwartz knocked down another one with 0:16 left in the first half to give her team a 30-29 advantage at the intermission.
Fisher’s fifth three, a shot by Audrey Eisberg underneath, and a steal and layup by Schwartz carried the Jets to that eight-point advantage.
But that was when Bluffton began its big run to take control of the game.
Maryn Schreiber joined Stout and Sonnigsen in double figures with 15 points, 12 of them in the first half.
Drayer finished with 12 points for Bluffton, which was 22-for-46 from the field for a .478 shooting percentage.
Bluffton also won the battle of the boards by a convincing 33-23 margin without Adams Central’s two bigs.
Adams Central was led by Schwartz’s 17 points and Fisher’s 15. The Jets were 19-for-45 from the floor for .422.
Bluffton won the junior varsity contest by a 51-30 score. The Tigers got eight points from Isla Gibson, seven each from Addison Yates and Shakyriana Eskridge, and six apiece from Piper Morgan and Addison Kauffman.
Also breaking into the scoring column for Bluffton were Savanna Hughett and Rylynn Penick with four points apiece, Eve Corkwell with three, and Madelynn Funk, Reagan Harris, and Alexandria Koby with two each.
Bluffton will play at Churubusco at 7:30 pm. Tuesday, Dec. 19
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BLUFFTON 67, ADAMS CENTRAL 54
At Bluffton
ADAMS CENTRAL (3-9): Kate Fisher 5-7 0-0 15, Athena Schwartz 6-14 2-2 17, Ava Stafford 2-10 2-2 8, Grace Fisher 1-2 1-4 3, Audrey Eisberg 2-5 0-0 4, Ashlyn Doster 1-4 1-2 3, Lillee Dull 2-3 0-2 4, Ellie Ogg 0-0 0-0 0, Izzy Isch 0-1 0-0 0. TOTAL: 19-45 6-12 54.
BLUFFTON (11-1): Isabella Stout 6-15 6-9 18, Marly Drayer 4-8 2-2 12, Maryn Schreiber 5-7 5-8 15, Haley Gibson 3-7 0-0 8, Sophie Eisenhut 0-0 0-2 0, Madyson Sonnigsen 4-9 1-2 13, Tressa Renner 0-0 1-2 1. TOTAL: 22-46 15-25 67.
Adams Central 16 14. 8 16 — 54
Bluffton 14 15 18 20 — 67
Three-point shooting: Adams Central 10-16 (K. Fisher 5-6, Schwartz 3-4, Stafford 2-6), Bluffton 8-13 (Stout 0-1, Drayer 2-3, Gibson 2-4, Sonnigsen 4-5). Rebounds: Adams Central 23, Bluffton 33 (Darayer 6, Schreiber 6, Sonnigsen 5). Turnovers: Adams Central 21, Bluffton 19. Personal fouls: Adams Central 19, Bluffton 11. Fouled Out: Doster. Technical fouls: None.
Junior Varsity: Bluffton 51, Adams Central 20.
