By Cort Reynolds

The Bluffton High School girls basketball team got doubled up 42-21 over the middle quarters and lost 74-43 at home to defending league champion Delphos Jefferson in their Northwest Conference opener Thursday night, December 14.

Wildcat ace Lyv Lindeman fired in 28 points to pace the victors. She nailed two treys and 10 points in the opening stanza as DJ bult a 22-15 lead.

Bluffton junior post Ayla Grandey kept the Pirates close with 10 first quarter points. Grandey ended up with 21 points, but no other Pirate scored more than five.

A 24-8 Delphos second period blew the game open as they built a 46-23 intermission cushion. Jefferson outscored the Pirate girls 28-20 after intermission. 

Lindeman scored 14 points in each half.

The defending league champion Wildcat girls improved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the NWC with the convincing win. Crestview and Grove are also 2-0 in league action.
Meanwhile, the Pirate girls dropped to 2-4 overall and 0-1 in the NWC after the loss.

Bluffton canned 16 deuces and hit just one shot from beyond the arc. The Pirates converted eight of nine at the charity stripe (89 percent).

DJ sank 18 two-point goals and splashed nine triples. The Wildcats converted 11 of 16 foul shots (69 percent).

Bluffton 54 (2-4, 0-1 NWC)

Burkholder 0, Cross 0, Fleece 1 2-2 4 , Dearth 0, Schweingruber 1 0-0 3, Warren 2 1-2 5, Schaadt 1 0-0 2, Utendorf 2 0-0 4, Bassett 2 0-0 4, Grandey 8 5-5 21.

Totals: 16-1/8-9/43. 3-pointers: Schweingruber 1.

DJ 74 (5-0, 2-0 NWC)

Lindeman 11 2-4 28, Kimmett 4 0-0 8, Burris 2 0-0 6, Moore 1 0-0 3, Brinkman 1 2-4 4, Muller 5 1-2 13, Stokes 1 0-0 2, French 2 6-8 10.

Totals: 18-9/11-16/63. 3-pointers: Lindeman 4, Burris 2, Muller 2, Moore 1.

1 2 3 4 F

Blf 15 8 13 7 43

DJ 22 24 18 10 74