Fulton County Ohio Media

After allowing the Swanton Lady Bulldogs to whittle an early 18-point deficit down to just two in the fourth quarter, the Archbold Lady Blue Streaks sank eight free throws in eight attempts, six by Addison Moyer (pictured), to pull out a 47-40 NWOAL victory on the road Thursday night.

The Blue Streaks started quickly as Moyer laced one from behind the arc and added a two-pointer for a 5-0 lead.  The hot start continued as Archbold raced out to a 20-8 first quarter advantage while the Bulldogs struggle to keep pace.  Eventually, the Streak advantage grew to 18 points, 33-15, before Swanton was able to score the final six points of the half to bring the margin back to 12.

But what was developing to be an easy win in the first half against a talented Swanton squad, changed dramatically in the third quarter as the Lady Bulldogs, led by identical twin sisters Aricka and Averie Lutz, slowly chipped away at the big Blue Streak lead.  Swanton outscored Archbold 13-4 in the third quarter and only trailed by three points entering the final frame.

The Streak lead hovered between the three- and five-point mark for much of the quarter until the Bulldogs were able to trim it to two points with just over two minutes remaining in the game.  With the small lead and possession of the ball, Archbold Coach Brian Ziegler put his offense into stall mode, forcing Swanton to commit fouls in hopes of getting the ball back after missed free throws.  The Bulldog strategy was sound but the Blue Streak shooters, Moyer and Kylie Sauder were not accommodating as they did not miss a single of their eight shots from the line to seal the win.

Moyer led Archbold with 18 points, Harley Phillips scored 14 and Sauder added eight.  Overall, the Streaks hit 10 of 13 foul shots.  The Lutz twins combined to score 35 of Swanton’s 40 points with Arika taking game-high honors with 20 and Averie netting 15.