By Cort Reynolds

BLUFFTON – The Bluffton High School girls basketball team dominated visiting Defiance 60-37 in a non-league contest Tuesday night, December 3.

Bluffton improved to 3-1 with the convincing win. Defiance fell to 0-3 with the defeat. The Pirates won all four quarters, three of them decisively.

The Pirates jumped to a 19-11 lead after the opening period as Jordan Schweingruber nailed a pair of three-pointers.

Maelee Miller hit a triple and scored five points in the second stanza to help extend the advantage to 30-19 at halftime.

Junior Blair Utendorf scored six points in the third period as the hosts stretched their margin to 45-28. 

6-3 post Ayla Grandey drained a trey and a deuce in the final period to help the Pirates pull further away and win by 23.

Senior Grandey led the Pirates with 16 points. Wing Utendorf tallied a season-high 15 markers.

Freshman guard Miller contributed 10 points. Schweingruber added seven markers.

Macy Schaadt scored five points, and Gracie Warren added four markers.

Alexandra Fernandez led the visitors with 13 points.

The Pirates connected on 16 deuces, drained four triples and canned 16 of 23 tries from the charity stripe (70 percent).

Defiance sank eight two-pointers, canned five treys and converted just six of 20 free throws (30 percent).

Bluffton visits perennial power Ottoville (4-1) Saturday afternoon in their first road game of the season. 

The Pirates then open Northwest Conference play at Delphos Jefferson (2-1) Thursday, Dec. 12.

1 2 3 4 F

Blf 19 11 15 15 60

Def 11 8 9 9 37