DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
Note: Photos by Tara Riehm – WZBD
Action got underway Tuesday night in three first-round games of the annual ACAC basketball tournament, with the girls’ teams kicking things off, as usual.
An expected home blowout win by Jay County (50-20 over Woodlan) sets up a semifinal in Portland Friday with Southern Wells, who had the bye Tuesday.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the bracket, it was the road teams who won both games. Bluffton defeated South Adams 61-26, while Adams Central was victorious over Heritage, 53-34.
The Tigers and Jets will play at Heritage Friday for a spot in the finals.
Bluffton 61 South Adams 26
It was all Bluffton early, with the visitors jumping out to a 15-1 lead.
“Bluffton really came out aggressive tonight,” noted SA coach Brett Freeman, “more than I’ve seen recently from them. We just weren’t able to handle them like we needed to.”
The Tigers came out of halftime with a 20-point lead and extended it in the third period to as much as 35 points.
Konley Ault led the Tigers with a 22-point effort. Khloe Dick had 17.
“I was much happier with our effort tonight,” said Freeman despite the loss. The coach took personal responsibility for the team’s poor performance in a loss last week to Southern Wells and said he asked his girls to give more against Bluffton. “That kind of effort will pay off in the long run. We have girls that will keep pushing to reach that next level.”
For the Starfires, it was eight points for Laney Trausch and seven for Ana Lehman. They’ll play three of their final four games at home before the postseason begins.
Jay County 50 Woodlan 20
Hallie Schwieterman led the Patriots with 24 points, while senior Raylah Newton had twelve.
The Patriots will look for a victory over Southern Wells to claim their spot in the finals after missing out last year.
Adams Central 53 Heritage 34
The Jets outscored the Patriots in each of the four quarters and systematically pulled away from the hosts to get back to .500 for the first time since November at 8-8.
The victory broke an odd streak for the Jets, who had not experienced a streak (win or loss) since mid-November, having alternated between a loss and a win for the last twelve matchups. The win over Heritage comes on the heels of their victory over the Patriots in regular conference play last weekend.
Ava Stafford led the Jets with 18 points.
For the Patriots, they managed ten more points offensively Tuesday than they had last Friday. Elaine Bickel led the team with nine points and Addison Meyer had eight.
Heritage will make a road trip Tuesday to take on Lakewood Park Christian.
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