By RYAN WALKER
Bluffton nearly dropped 100 points on Canterbury on opening night.
The Tigers’ 99-16 victory over the Cavaliers (0-3) is what Bluffton fans hope is foreshadowing for the season to come with several of its key returning players.
Bluffton blitzed its opponent from the opening tip, scoring 15 seconds in and like an assembly line, forced turnovers and scored layups one after another. By the end of the quarter, it was 31-0.
Canterbury, who did not have a varsity team last year, struggled on both ends of the floor with its revamped roster. It coughed up 33 turnovers in the game and failed to score until the 4:19 mark in the second quarter. The singular point was on the first shot of two free throws by Grace Chaille, but the score was 51-1 by that point.
Bluffton head coach Doug Curtis placed his bench and junior varsity members onto the floor for parts of the second quarter and most of the second half. The Tigers shot 66% (44-66) from the floor and called off the dogs when they reached 99. For just over a minute, the team played keep-away to push away 100 points.
“A couple of things we can take from tonight is No. 1, we know we have a chance to be a really good basketball team,” Curtis said. “Really good basketball teams should do what they did tonight. That’s what should happen. It shouldn’t be a 45-20 game, it should be what happened … The second thing is that we were really efficient. We want to be really efficient when you have the opportunity to be.”
Seniors Isabella Stout and Maryn Schreiber scored 25 and 14 of the team’s 99 points, while junior Konley Ault tallied 16. The Tigers’ freshman also got into double figures with Khloe Dick dropping 15 in her first varsity contest and Kamryn Ault with 11 in hers.
Dick did not start the game but was the first option off the bench to start the season. She picked off a few passes and transitioned them for easy points, but also made a jump shot and a three-point bucket to flash a promising addition to an already fierce Tigers squad.
“I think she’s going to step right in and play for us – that’s not going to be an issue,” Curtis said. “The key for her is to keep learning as we’re going.”
There was no junior varsity contest.
Bluffton will host Northfield at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 11.
ryan@news-banner.com
BLUFFTON 99, CANTERBURY 16
At Bluffton
CANTERBURY (0-3): Grace Chaille 12 points, Jazmyne Justice 2, Kate Laurie 2, Manhattan Morrisey 0, Sydney Cooley 0, Victoria Kim 0, Maryn Minnick 0, Malika Ahmad 0, Alexa Coble 0. TOTAL: 16.
BLUFFTON (1-0): Isabella Stout 11-19 0-0 25, Konley Ault 7-9 1-1 16, Khloe Dick 7-9 0-0 15, Maryn Schreiber 7-11 0-0 14, Kamryn Ault 5-5 0-0 11, Tressa Renner 1-2 4-4 6, Madyson Sonnigsen 2-2 0-0 4, Sophie Eisenhut 2-2 0-2 4, Isla Gibson 2-5 0-0 4, Marly Drayer 0-1 0-0 0, Madelyn Funk 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 44-66 5-7 99.
Canterbury 0 3 9 4 — 16
Bluffton 31 33 24 11 — 99
Three-Point FG: Canterbury 1 (Chaille 1), Bluffton: 6-13 (Stout 3-6, Konley Ault 1-1, Dick 1-2, Kamryn Ault 1-1, Renner 0-1, Funk 0-1, Gibson 0-1). Rebounds: Canterbury: 16 (Coley 3, Laurie 3, Ahmad 2, Chaille 1, Coble 1), Bluffton: 32 (Schreiber 9, Stout 5, Konley Ault 4, Drayer 4, Kamryn Ault 2, Sonnigsen 2, Eisenhut 2, Dick 1, Renner 1, Funk 1, Gibson 1). Turnovers: Canterbury: 33, Bluffton: 7. Fouls: Canterbury: 9, Bluffton 9. Fouled out: None. Technicals: None.
JV: No game.
