By RYAN WALKER
The Bluffton girls’ basketball team defeated Churubusco 42-32 at the Tiger Den fresh off of a conference road victory against Adams Central on Saturday. The Tigers have now won two in a row heading into a short Christmas break, as head coach Eric Mounsey calls it.
“I was very proud of the girls’ effort throughout. It’s a good win for us to go into a little mini Christmas break that we’ve got going on with two consecutive wins against two teams that are physical, play hard, and are well-coached,” he said after the game.
Mounsey’s team had a slight lead for the majority of the game that began in the first quarter as they went up 8-3 at the 1:35 mark. However, the Eagles started what was its theme for the night — coming back.
Hailee Gaerte nailed a three-ball to bring the score within a bucket for Busco. In the waning seconds of the quarter, Alyssa Eby hoisted a jumper from around the elbow. The shot hit the front iron, then the very top of the backboard (not enough to be deemed out of bounds), and then into the net to tie the game with the horn sounding.
“They always play very physical, they’re tough, and coach David Goodwell does a good job coaching them up, so you’ve always got to be focused for 32 minutes because his teams will never ever quit,” Mounsey said.
Bluffton, though retook the lead in the second quarter when junior Haley Gibson started with a triple. The Tigers would go on a 9-0 run thanks to her seven points in that stretch.
The Eagles wouldn’t quite get to the comeback they had in the first quarter but added four points to head into the break down 17-12.
Just over halfway into the third, the Tigers got one make each from Gibson, Maryn Schreiber, and Tressa Renner to help pull the team away to a nine-point advantage, but Goodwell’s team said ‘not so fast.’
Churubusco’s Brooklyn Sinclair started a run for the Eagles with a three, followed by another one just two minutes later in between some free throws. Mounsey would use a timeout as he saw the lead shrivel down to just one point at 23-22.
The Eagles took the lead on its next possession with a three from Bridget Timbrook, and then the Tigers’ Isabella Stout evened up the score by making a pair of free throws at the end of the third quarter.
Stout would continue to add points for the team, hitting a three 20 seconds into the final quarter. That would spark another run from the Tigers as they scored on back-to-back steals to go up 32-25.
Yet, the Eagles wouldn’t go down without a fight. A 4-2 scoring swing was capped off by Sinclair’s third three of the game, now with the Tigers up by just two again with 5:22 remaining in the game.
In that 5:22 stretch, Bluffton’s defense wouldn’t allow a single point the rest of the way, confusing Churubusco by switching from man-to-man to a zone defense, according to Mounsey. The change was an effort to finally take care of business in a game full of runs by both teams.
“That can be just as exhausting when you’re coming back as when you’re trying to maintain and try and build that lead,” he said. “I thought the girls didn’t get rattled, especially late when they got within two, it was 34-32 there. I don’t think they scored after that.”
To end the game, Marly Drayer hit three free throws, Gibson made another three, and Konley Ault finished off the scoring with an and-one.
Bluffton lost the junior varsity game 25-17. Leading the Tigers was Savanna Hughett with nine points, and Eve Corkwell had six.
sports@news-banner.com
BLUFFTON 42, CHURUBUSCO 32
At Bluffton High School
CHURUBUSCO (3-10): Brooklyn Sinclair 4-12 0-0 11, Bridget Timbrook 3-8 2-2 9, Hailee Gaerte 1-4 0-0 3, Alyssa Eby 2-2 0-0 4, Jorja DeBolt 0-5 0-0 0, Madison Hosted 0-2 0-0 0, Kena hamman 0-0 3-6 3, Gabby Orth 0-0 2-2 2. TOTALS: 10-35 7-10 32.
BLUFFTON (6-5): Haley Gibson 7-16 2-2 18, Maryn Schreiber 3-6 0-0 6, Tressa Renner 3-6 0-0 6, Isabella Stout 1-4 2-2 5, Mary Drayer 1-3 3-4 5, Lily King 0-3 0-0 0, Konley Ault 1-3 0-1 2.TOTALS: 16-40 7-9 42.
Churubusco 8 4 13 7 –– 32
Bluffton 8 9 8 17 –– 42
Three-point Goals: Churubusco 5-17 (Sinclair 3-9, Timbrook 1-2, Gaerte 1-4, Hosted 0-1, DeBolt 0-1), Bluffton 3-7 (Gibson 2-5, Stout 1-1, King 0-1). Rebounds: Churubusco 14 (Hosted 6, Timbrook 2, Eby 2, Hamman 2, Sinclair 1, DeBolt 1), Bluffton 29 (Schreiber 13, Stout 6, Gibson 3, Ault 2, Renner 2, Drayer 2, King 1). Turnovers: Churubusco 19, Bluffton 22. Fouls: Churubusco 14, Bluffton 9. Fouled Out: None. Technicals: None.
