Donations raised to help fund ALS research for a cure
Hat Tip Katelynn Farley
The Bluffton Middle School girls’ basketball teams hosted the Woodlan Warriors on Thursday, January 9, for a special “Hoops4ALS” fundraiser game.
The seventh-grade girls’ basketball coach, Lauren Brinneman, organized the event after seeing information about Hoops4ALS on Instagram. The organization seeks to raise funding for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) research. According to the Hoops4ALS website, they “work to promote ALS advocacy and research, helping those dealing with this horrible disease and supporting the researchers working to find a cure.”
Lauren’s own life has been affected by the existence of the disease. She shared with the crowd gathered at the game that her grandmother had been diagnosed with ALS three years ago almost to the day. She shared that, just six months later, her grandmother passed.
“I knew I had to do something - reach out, thank them for what they’re doing, something,” Lauren said while addressing the crowd. “...there are so many adults with this and all we can do is raise awareness. It’s just…nasty. It ruins a person.”
She also shared that donations are being matched up to $5,000 and thanked those in attendance for their help.
Members of both teams were clad in black Hoops4ALS t-shirts, showing a united front despite their competition. First to face off were the seventh-grade teams. The girls stayed consistent in scoring for the first half, keeping things tied up at 14 by the time the second period was over.
Period 3 is where Bluffton started to hit their stride. Keeping the Woodlan Warriors at 14 points, the Tigers skyrocketed to 31 points before the period had even finished.
Despite the ever-growing deficit, Woodlan never stopped putting forth effort during the game. By the end of the fourth quarter, Bluffton reigned victorious with a score of 39-19.
The eighth-grade girls were slow to start, but kept the scoring incredibly well-matched. It took until the third period for the teams to break double digits, and it was an absolute nail-biter until the end to see who would win. With just under four minutes left in the game, Bluffton was finally able to get a hair ahead of Woodlan, but with 2:53 left the Warriors were able to tie things back up.
With just over one minute left, Bluffton was able to take the score 20-17, and it was one final successful 2-point shot with 10 seconds left that solidified their win.
Scorers for the seventh-grade Bluffton team included:
-Adrienne Smallman: 12 points
-Averie Pearson: 10 points
-Olivia Brown: 6 points
-Cheyenne Sonnigsen: 4 points
-Cadence Lehman: 3 points
Abby Garrett and Alaya Reinhard: 2 points each
Scorers for the eighth-grade Bluffton team included:
-Audrey Mechling: 10 points
-Averie Patton, Khloe Gehrett and Luci Jenkins: 4 points each
For more information about the Hoops4ALS organization, visit https://hoops4.als.net/
PHOTOS COURTESY OF JESSICA SIZEMORE WITH BLUE HOUR PHOTOGRAPHY
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