The Bluffton and Ada girls basketball teams treated fans to an outstanding high school basketball game Thursday night in the Treasure Chest. The game featured quick spurts, exciting end to end action and a thrilling finish. Unfortunately for Bluffton, Ada was able to come back from a 10 point deficit in the fourth quarter and won the game with a '3' with just 7 seconds left, 56-55. The fourth quarter was a roller coaster ride though.
BHS scored the first four points of the final quarter to open a 45-37 lead. After a Bulldog bucket, Lydia Guagenti scored back to back layups to extend the lead to 49-39 with 5:15 left. Ada hit a ‘3’ with 2:06 left then promptly stole the inbounds pass and made a layup to cut the lead to 51-47. After two more Pirate free throws, Ada canned another ‘3’ to make it 53-50 Pirates with 1:23 left. Sarah Stratton knocked down two more free throws for Bluffton to push the lead out to 55-50 but Ada responded with yet another ‘3’ with :50 to go. Ada’s ‘D’ stood tall and grabbed a defensive rebound with 26 ticks to go with the score 55-53 Pirates.
Ada came down and ran their offense looking for a good look at a two to tie it up. With ten seconds left, an Ada sharpshooter appeared at the top of the key unguarded and drilled a ‘3’ to take the lead 56-55. Bluffton’s last gasp was a halfcourt heave from Guagenti that was off the mark.
The loss spoiled a great offensive night for the Pirates who shared the ball well, especially in the first half. BHS had 9 assists on 14 buckets in the first half alone. They finished the game with 12. Jaime Lugibihl finished many of the first half assists as she scored 11 first half points. Jaime led the team overall with 13 points. Molly Lengyel added 12. Sarah Stratton and Lydia Guagenti each scored 10 for a balanced Pirate squad. Ada won the JV game 40-25.
Click here for game shots from Troy Breidenbach and Marvin Foster.
Tags: Ada, Lydia Guagenti, Sarah Stratton, Jaime Lugibihl, Molly Lengyel
Teams: Basketball (G)