By RICK SPRUNGER
Bluffton’s girls’ team made Senior Night a happy night.
The Tigers routed Manchester 64-49 Tuesday evening while honoring graduating seniors Haley Gibson and Cayah King.
It was a big win for Bluffton because the Tigers (16-6) will meet this same Manchester team (14-7) next Tuesday night in the opening round of Class 2A sectional play at South Adams, with obviously a lot more riding on the outcome.
Bluffton used a big 13-0 run during the latter portion of the third quarter to put the one on ice.
Gibson rifled back-to-back three-pointers in the span of 33 seconds in the middle of the rally to increase a 37-31 margin to 44-31 and force the Squires to play catch-up from there.
The lead spiked at 47-31 after Konley Ault hit one of two free throws and then took a rebound coast to coast for two more.
Manchester never got closer than nine points after that.
“We watched a lot of film on (Manchester),” said Bluffton coach Doug Curtis after the game. “We wanted to speed the game up on them, and I felt like we were able to do that. We didn’t press or trap them. That didn’t work out so well for us last week. But we still wanted to push the tempo.”
The defense also came up big during that spree as Manchester committed two turnovers and was limited to five one-and-done misses from the field. Curtis thought that was key.
“They are such a good rebounding team, and we were a little concerned about that,” he added. “Our goal is to be aggressive, and we tried to make a living off the offensive boards. Maryn Schreiber battled all night for rebounds, and she did a good job.”
She finished with eight to lead her team to a 36-31 edge on the glass.
Schreiber actually started that big third quarter run with a rebound basket, and Gibson got the first of her two three-pointers after an offensive rebound by Isabella Stout.
Bluffton also never trailed in the contest.
The Tigers led by as much as eight points on three occasions in the first half and were up 30-23 at halftime.
Manchester was never out of range until that third quarter blitz.
The Squires cut a 16-8 deficit after one quarter down to 21-20 midway through the first half before Bluffton spurted back out to a 28-20 edge.
“We’re getting better at mental toughness,” noted Curtis of his team’s ability to rise to the challenge.
Bluffton placed four players in double figures, including Gibson with 15 points, Schreiber and Ault with 13 apiece, and Stout with 10.
Gibson hit on four three-pointers in the contest and Madyson Sonnigsen on three while just missing double figures herself with nine points.
The Tigers hit on 19-49 shots from the field for a .387 shooting percentage.
They committed just 10 turnovers while pushing the tempo, and five of those were in the fourth quarter after the issue was pretty well settled.
Manchester, meanwhile, committed 15 ball-handling miscues, nine of which came during the middle two periods when the game was getting away from the Squires.
The visitors connected on 18 of 50 shots from the floor for a .360 shooting percentage and were led by Brookelynn Buzzard with 16 points and Emma Walker with 15.
However, 10 of Walker’s 15 points came in the fourth quarter with the outcome already decided.
Manchester took the reserve game, 36-29.
Bluffton got eight points apiece from Shakyriana Eskridge and Isla Gibson, four from Sophie Eisenhut, three each from Addison Yates and Piper Morgan, two from Eve Corkwell, and one from Addison Kauffman.
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BLUFFTON 64, MANCHESTER 49
at Bluffton
MANCHESTER (14-7): Peyton Ream 1-4 2-2 4, Brookelynn Buzzard 6-18 2-2 16, Emma Walker 7-11 1-2 15, Gracie Lauer 1-5 1-2 3, Hadley West 1-7 2-4 5, Kim Schroll 1-1 0-0 2, Molly Schannep 0-1 0-0 0, Hanna Stout 0-1 0-0 0, Ava Sautter 1-2 1-2 4. TOTAL: 18-50 9-14 49.
BLUFFTON (16-6): Isabella Stout 2-11 5-8 10, Marly Drayer 0-3 2-2 2, Maryn Schreiber 6-12 1-3 13, Haley Gibson 4-8 3-4 15, Cayah King 0-0 2-2 2, Konley Ault 4-7 5-6 13, Madyson Sonnigsen 3-7 0-0 9, Tressa Renner 0-1 0-0 0. TOTAL: 19-49 18-25 64.
Manchester 8 15 11 15 — 49
Bluffton 16 14 17 17 — 64
Three-point shooting: Manchester 4-17 (Ream 0-1, Buzzard 2-10, Lauer 0-1, West 1-3, Stout 0-1, Sautter 1-1); Bluffton 8-17 (Stout 1-3, Gibson 4-6, Sonnigsen 3-7, Renner 0-1). Rebounds: Manchester 31, Bluffton 36 (Schreiber 8, Stout 7, Ault 6). Turrnovers: Manchester 15, Bluffton 10. Personal fouls: Manchester 18, Bluffton 16. Fouled out: Walker. Technical fouls: None.
Junior Varsity: Manchester 36, Bluffton 29.
