By Cort Reynolds

ARCHBOLD__The visiting Bluffton High School girls basketball team hung close but lost a tight 57-50 road bout at Archbold in Div. V Northwest sectional final tournament action on Saturday afternoon, February 21.

Five Bluestreak girls scored in double figures to pace the victors to a hard-fought victory.

Bluffton sophomore guard Maelee Miller and junior Greta Myers each netted 11 points to pace the Pirates.

Archbold pumped in 22 early points to grab a 22-16 lead after a high-scoring first quarter. Miller popped in two early triples, and Myers canned one trey to keep the Pirates close.

Archbold’s Klaire Kern scored seven first-period points, while three teammates chipped in with four apiece and another sank a trifecta.

The game was close throughout as both teams scored nine points in the second stanza to keep the Bluestreaks ahead 31-25 at halftime.

Seven Gracie Warren points sparked a 15-10 Pirate third quarter that edged upset-minded Bluffton within 41-40 heading to the final period.

Archbold’s Charlee Forward and Molly Harris each scored five points in the fourth period to lead the Bluestreaks to a 16-10 quarter win. The hosts sank four of six foul shots down the stretch to keep Bluffton at bay.

The fifth-seeded Pirate girls finished their season 12-11 with the road tourney defeat.  

The third-seeded Bluestreaks improved to 18-5 overall, as they escaped with the home win. Archbold advances to the district semifinals on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. in Defiance against Delta (18-4). 

Delta knocked off fourth-seeded Green Meadows Conference champion Paulding (20-3) by a 42-34 count in their sectional final Saturday. 

Pirate Warren contributed nine markers. Senior Macy Schaadt chipped in with seven points, six of which came in the second half. Fellow senior Blair Utendorf netted all five of her points in the second stanza. 

Ellie Bogart scored five points, and Lauren Dearth added two.

Streak senior Forward and Kern each scored 13 points to lead the victors. Harris contributed 11 markers, and she sank two triples in the first half.

Senior Miley Gericke and Reagan Wendt netted 10 markers apiece. The five Streaks combined to score all 57 Archbold points.

Bluffton canned 14 deuces and buried four triples. The Pirates converted  10 of 15 free throws (67 percent).  

The Streaks connected on 19 two-point goals and drilled three treys. Archbold sank 10 of 17 free throws (59 percent). 

The Pirates ended up 6-5 on the road this season, and they finished 6-6 at home.