Bluffton tops New Haven in the Game of the Week
Hat Tip, Katelynn Farley Jessica Sizemore Photographer
Both the JV and Varsity girls’ basketball teams at Bluffton High School earned victories while hosting the New Haven Bulldogs during the Tuesday, November 26th game. This game also marked the second Game of The Week by The Den, brought to you by Greenbear Digital Media.
The night started off with the junior varsity teams facing off. During the first few minutes of the game both teams seemed to be on equal footing, but that wasn’t the case for long. In the first quarter the score sat 14-9, and New Haven barely budged that score during the second quarter. The final score for the JV game was 63 to 24.
Sophomore JV player Addison Kauffman said she though the game “went really well” and that they were able to play as a team, have fun and “didn’t get down on each other at all.”
Kauffman was glad to watch the varsity team in their success during the game, stating, “I think it makes us want to be better players. They do such a great job and its fun to watch them and see what you want to be or see if you can be as good as them when you are up there.”
During the Varsity game, it was the Tigers that drew first blood with a successful three-point shot by Madyson Sonnigsen. In fact, Bluffton was able to earn two more successful baskets for a score of seven before New Haven made it onto the board. By the end of the first quarter, the Bulldogs had only earned nine points to the Tigers’ 30, and the scoring never improved for the Bulldogs. The second quarter saw an additional six points for New Haven and 17 for Bluffton. In the last half of the game, New Haven earned just one more point to Bluffton’s 37.
Point leaders for Bluffton were:
Konley Ault with 15
Isabella Stout with 14
Madyson Sonnigsen with 13
Khloe Dick and Maryn Schreiber, each with 9
Point leaders for New Haven were:
A’ lanah Webb with 11
Mayzon Win with 4
After the game, Sonnigsen stated that she thought the team played well and that “everyone had their parts” to play.
“I think we’re doing well this season,” Sonnigsen continued. “We’ve definitely grown and everyone’s starting to get their part and their role. Defense and offense is starting to be distributed evenly and everyone’s kinda pitching in.”
Coach Doug Curtis echoed Sonnigsen’s sentiments.
“We’re trying to be as aggressive and relentless as we can be on both ends, so instead of somebody controlling us, we’re controlling them,” he said.
Having only suffered one loss so far this season, Curtis says that it was a “good learning experience” and credited a few key players with having a “consistent start to the season” and that they were “weapons” for the team. These players were Isabella Stout, Maryn Schreiber and Konley Ault.
“We’re gonna keep pushing that and keep getting those guys the ball and give them opportunities to score, and that’ll give us the opportunities to be aggressive on the offensive end,” Curtis said. “All three of those guys play really good defense too, so they’re kind of our leaders. [I] really enjoy what they’re doing at this point we just gotta keep going.”
Next up, the Bluffton Tigers travel to South Adams on November 29.
