By ANDREW FEEBACK
WABASH — The Bluffton Lady Tigers picked up their 12th win in 13 tries Tuesday night with a 69-33 road win over the Southwood Lady Knights.
They used a strong first quarter to jump out to an early double-digit lead, then followed it with a dominant second quarter to take control.
Bluffton forced Southwood into 21 turnovers, with 11 of those coming in the second frame where they outscored the Knights 22-3.
Coach Doug Curtis credited the defense his team played, named “Tiger,” for generating the opposing miscues.
“In Tiger, we got a lot of turnovers and run-outs,” he said. “They were averaging 22 turnovers coming into this game, so we were obviously trying to get out on the break and create some of those turnovers.”
Bluffton had balanced scoring overall, with Isabella Stout and Khloe Dick both scoring 16 points. Konley Ault added 13, Tressa Renner had 10 and Maryn Schrieber tallied eight.
Early three-pointers from Stout and Ault helped the Tigers jump out to a 13-2 lead. Bluffton led 24-10 when the first quarter ended, and the route was on after they scored 13 straight to begin the second.
That run featured four straight buckets from Stout, who scored all 16 of her points in the first half to help the Tigers take a 46-13 halftime lead.
While the game’s outcome was never really in doubt, Curtis was a little unhappy with one stretch early in the second half, when Southwood put together a mini-run that “cut” Bluffton’s 46-13 halftime lead to 53-21 midway through the third.
Southwood was getting a bit too comfortable in its offense and finding more open looks after Bluffton had held the Knights to just five made field goals in the first half.
“I don’t like giving up open shots,” Curtis said. “I want to make them work for shots. They had 10 points at the beginning of the game and we were giving up open shots, so we called timeout and did a better job in the second quarter about making them work for shots.
“Then we came out in a different defense in the second half, and again, wide open shots,” he continued. “You can’t do that against good teams. We could do it tonight and get away with it, but that’s mental discipline about being ready to go in the second half with the score what it is. It’s not about the game, it’s about doing what you’re supposed to do, and I thought we weren’t ready to go.”
The Tigers responded, using a 15-4 run to push the lead over 40 points, and allowing a handful of junior varsity players to get into the game.
Bluffton controlled the boards, out-rebounding Southwood 44-13. Schreiber topped the Tigers with 11 rebounds, while Sophie Eisenhut had nine and Madyson Sonnigsen had eight.
Adi Deaton led Southwood (3-7) with 13 points.
Bluffton will head to Adams Central Saturday afternoon with the varsity game beginning around 1:30 p.m.
The Tigers took the junior varsity game 44-16. Kamryn Ault scored 14 points, Grace Fry added 10 and Isla Gibson had eight.
BLUFFTON 69, SOUTHWOOD 33
At Southwood
BLUFFTON (12-1): Isabella Stout 7-18 0-0 16, Konley Ault 4-8 4-4 13, Marly Drayer 0-1 0-0 0, Maryn Schreiber 3-4 2-2 8, Khloe Dick 7-13 1-1 16, Tressa Renner 4-8 0-0 10, Madyson Sonnigsen 0-3 0-0 0, Madelyn 0-2 1-2 1, Sophie Eisenhut 1-5 1-2 3, Isla Gibson 1-3 0-0 2, Kamryn Ault 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 27-65 9-11 69.
SOUTHWOOD (3-7): Ella Chambers 0-1 1-2 1, Hailey Collins 2-3 0-1 5, Izzy Ashba 2-7 0-0 5, Brooke Farr 0-0 0-0 0, Adi Deaton 5-7 0-0 13, Aaliyah Bussard 0-1 0-0 0, Gracie Lambert 0-6 0-0 0, Hali Pershing 2-8 0-0 4, Lola Winer 2-9 0-2 5, Elexis Kelley 0-0 0-0 0, Alivia Pershing 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 13-42 1-5 33.
Bluffton 24 22 13 10 –69
Southwood 10 3 10 10 –33
Three-point Goals: Bluffton 6-17 (Renner 2-4, Stout 2-4, Ault 1-2, Dick 1-5, Funk 0-1, Gibson 0-1), Southwood 6-18 (Deaton 3-5, Ashba 1-3, Collins 1-2, Winer 1-1, Lambert 0-3, Chambers 0-1, Pershing 0-3). Rebounds: Bluffton 44 (Schreiber 11, Eisenhut 9, Sonnigsen 8, Stout 6, Renner 4, Konley Ault 2, Kamryn Ault 2, Dick 1, Drayer 1), Southwood 13 (Pershing 3, Winer 3, Collins 2, Ashba 2, Farr 1, Deaton 1, Lambert 1). Turnovers: Bluffton 13, Southwood 21. Fouls: Bluffton 7, Southwood 9. Fouled out: None. Technicals: None.
JV: Bluffton 44, Southwood 16.
