By RYAN WALKER
MONROE — Bluffton’s dominant 70-33 win over Adams Central puts the Tigers one step further in the driver’s seat in the ACAC Conference.
The No. 11 Tigers (13-1, 4-0 ACAC) muscled their way through the struggling 2-10 Jets (1-4 ACAC) to remain as the only undefeated team left in the conference.
This contest was expected to be a no contest, and that was proven within the first few minutes. The Tigers jumped out to a 7-0 lead when the Jets needed a timeout with barely two minutes gone by. Then, the lead grew to a 24-0 edge before the first Jets’ point from of a free throw at the 52-second mark. The advantage went 25-1 by the end of the first with five different Bluffton players scoring.
Head coach Doug Curtis planned on mixing up player rotations defensively at some point but stuck with his starting five because of how well they were playing. In the second quarter, he checked in some of his bench, including an attempt to bring up a junior varsity member, but ended up changing the game drastically.
The Jets chucked up triples one after another, nailing five of them in the second quarter. Ava Stafford hit the first one with 5:04 left, which was also the Jets’ first basket made. Then, Tenley Hendricks and Kate Fisher hit a total of four more. The end result was Adams Central winning the period 15-10, but still down by 19 points at halftime.
“I thought maybe we had a little bit of a letdown in the second,” Curtis said. “Not that they weren’t hustling or playing hard, but it’s just you’re playing with different people. And that’s one reason I’ve tried to start a bunch of different lineups this year, is I want everybody to be playing with different people so we can get that down. But obviously, that’s still a work in progress.”
The halftime adjustment went much smoother, and the Tigers continued its regularly scheudled style of basketball.
Bluffton outscored Adams Central 25-17 for the rest of the game, never having a real threat of losing. It’s 37-point win was the eighth time the team has won by 30 or more points this season, not including other 20-point victories.
Isabella Stout led the charge for Bluffton with 24 points, her eighth 20-point game this season. Konley Ault put up 15 points, while Maryn Schreiber netted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The team’s 72.4 points per game average is still second-best in the state regardless of class. Although there have been several scorers on Bluffton’s court, none have been more impressive than Stout.
Last season, Stout averaged 13.2 points per game. Through an off-season and summer’s worth of hard work, she’s over 20 per contest this year and soaring as an all-around scorer.
Curtis said that ever since the end of the last season, she’s been on a misson to become more versitile.
Over the summer, Curtis had her playing AAU basketball with a coach he knew and worked on her offensive game. After her fall golf season, Stout got to work on her weaknesses and it’s starting to pay off.
Curtis shared that he watched her practice on the first day of open gym to observe her priorities. Stout continued to build up what her and Curtis talked about at the end of last season. It includes more of an outside shooting game, which she has taken to the next level. More specifically, her three-point shooting game has gone up from 19% to 34%
“She’s in there the very first open gym, working her tail off at every level and you’re seeing that in the game,” Curtis said. “She can get to the line, she can get to the rim, she can shoot three.”
Bluffton will take a break heading into the new year and will next play at Bellmont on Jan. 4.
Bluffton won the junior varsity contest 59-21. Kamryn Ault led the Tigers with 14 points, Isla Gibson 13.
BLUFFTON 70,
ADAMS CENTRAL 33
At Adams Central
BLUFFTON (13-1, 4-0 ACAC): Isabella Stout 8-15 6-7 24, Konley Ault 5-9 5-7 15, Maryn Schreiber 5-9 2-2 12, Tressa Renner 3-4 0-0 7, Khloe Dick 2-4 1-2 6, Kamryn Ault 1-2 0-0 2, Sophie Eisenhut 1-2 0-0 2, Madyson Sonnigsen 1-4 0-0 2, Grace Fry 0-1 0-0 0, Isla Gibson 0-0 0-0 0, Madelyn Funk 0-0 0-0 0, Marly Drayer 0-1 0-0 0. TOTALS: 26-51 14-18 70.
ADAMS CENTRAL (2-10, 1-4 ACAC): Kate Fisher 15 points, Ava Stafford 8, Tenley Hendricks 6, Ellie Ogg 2, Lila Ringger 2, Izzy Isch 0, Demi Landis 0, Myla Ellenbarger. TOTAL 33.
Bluffton 25 10 23 12 — 70
A. Central 1 15 10 7 — 33
Three-point Shooting: Bluffton 4-16 (Stout 2-6, Renner 1-2, Dick 1-3, Ka. Ault 0-1, Sonnigsen 0-3, Fry 0-1), Adams Central 8 made (Fisher 5, Hendricks 2, Stafford). Rebounds: Bluffton 40 (Schreiber 10, Renner 9, Eisehut 4, Sonnigsen 4, Ka. Ault 3, Ko. Ault 3, Stout 3, Drayer 2, Dick 2), Adams Central 12 (Fisher 3, Stafford 3, Ringger 2, Ellenberger 1, Isch 1, Hendricks 1, Ogg 1). Turnovers: Bluffton 12, Adams Central 20. Fouls: Bluffton 5, Adams Central 14. Fouled Out: None. Technicals: None.
JV: 59-21 Bluffton.
