Lady Pirate cagers crush Musketeers
By Cort Reynolds

BLUFFTON - The host Bluffton girls basketball ran out to a big early lead and whipped Ft. Jennings 69-24 in a non-league mismatch late Saturday morning.

The Lady Pirates improved to 2-1 after the lopsided win, while FJ fell to 0-4 with the defeat.

Bluffton led 20-8 after the first period and extended that margin to 34-12 at intermission. They then lengthened the lead to 37 points heading to the final stanza with a 17-2 third quarter.

Senior guard Laykin Garmatter led eight Pirates in the scoring column with a season-high 17 points. Sami Scoles contributed a dozen markers, including seven in the first period, to spearhead Bluffton's strong start.

Junior post Kylie Stackhouse netted 11, while Riley Busch tallied eight markers and junior Kylie Monday added seven. 

Junior Sophie Bricker scored six points, while junior Haelynn Bischoff and Riley Eachus tallied four apiece.

No Musketeer hit double figures as they were limited to just 14 points over the first 24 minutes. Senior Jessie Foust led FJ with seven points, and she canned the lone FJ three-point goal. Classmate Maddison Dickman added five markers.

The Lady Pirates hit on 29 shots overall from the field, including four from beyond the arc, and knocked down 25 two-pointers.

Bluffton converted seven of 14 from the charity stripe (50 percent).

FJ connected on just 10 shots from the field overall against the stingy Pirate defense. The Musketeers knocked down nine shots inside the arc and sank one attempt from three-point land.

The cold-shooting Musketeers converted just three of eight from the foul line (38 percent).

 
FJ 24 (0-4)
C. VonSossan 1 0-0 2, R. VonSossan 1 0-0 2, Meyer 0, Foust 3 0-0 7, Dickman 2 1-3 5, Fitzpatrick 1 2-4 4, Jacomet 0, Grote 2 0-1 4. Totals: 9-1/3-8/24. 3-pointer: Foust 1.

Bluffton 69 (2-1)
Bischoff 2 0-0 4, L. Garmatter 7 2-2 17, Stackhouse 3 4-9 11, Busch 4 0-0 8, Eachus 2 0-0 4, Bricker 3 0-0 6, Scoles 5 1-3 12, Monday 3 0-0 7. 
Totals: 25-4/7-14/69. 3-pointers: L. Garmatter 1, Monday 1, Stackhouse 1, Scoles 1.

    1    2    3    4    F    
FJ    8    4    2    10    24
Bluf    20    14    17    18    69    

Bluffton (2-1 home) plays its first road game when they visit Delphos Jefferson (1-1) in the Northwest Conference opener Thursday, December 3. 

The Pirates then travel to traditional power Ottoville Saturday, Dec. 5 for a non-league early afternoon battle.