Basketball Preview: Bluffton Tigers vs. Wabash Apaches
The Bluffton Tigers will take on the Wabash Apaches at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Bluffton sitting on seven straight victories and Wabash on six.
Bluffton is headed into the match after thoroughly thrashing Southern Wells: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Bluffton blew Southern Wells out of the water with a 66-25 final score. The Tigers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine matchups by 21 points or more this season.
Bluffton got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Konley Ault out in front who went 7 for 12 en route to 18 points plus five assists and two steals. Ault is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last 14 games she's played dating back to last season. Isabella Stout was another key player, scoring 20 points plus three steals.
Meanwhile, Wabash sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 43-40 victory over Peru on Saturday. The 43-point effort marked the Apaches' lowest-scoring contest of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Wabash's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Anna Daughtry, who scored nine points along with seven rebounds and four steals. Another player making a difference was Brookelyn Buzzard, who posted 12 points in addition to five steals.
Wabash smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in six consecutive games.
Wabash's victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-1. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.0 points per game. As for Bluffton, their win bumped their record up to 9-1.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as Bluffton and Wabash are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Bluffton hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 72 points per game. However, it's not like Wabash struggles in that department as they've been averaging 58.2. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Everything went Bluffton's way against Wabash in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, as Bluffton made off with a 58-34 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Bluffton since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
