Fulton County Ohio Media

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Down 22-14 after a cold shooting first half, the Delta Lady Panthers caught fire in the second half and defeated the Bluffton Lady Pirates 47-42 Thursday night at home in the “Jungle” to advance to the OHSAA Division V District Semi-Finals.  Delta junior Abby Todd scored 16 of her game-high 19 points in the last two quarters to lead the comeback.  “It didn’t feel like we were ready to go in the first half,” said Delta coach Kelsey Gillen explaining her team’s sluggish start.  “They took us out of our game.  We like to push the ball and they slowed it down to their tempo.”

A quick start to the third quarter pulled the Lady Panthers withing three points and they went on to outscore the Lady Pirates 16-7 to take a 30-29 lead into the fourth.  The game was tight the rest of the way as Todd hit three of her five triples to counter scores by Bluffton.  Trailing 43-42 with 11 seconds remaining in the contest, the Pirates were forced to foul Keagyn Gillen in an effort to get the ball back.  Gillen coldly sank both free throws and the Panthers stole the inbound pass, leading to a game-sealing layup by Kendal Sprow and 47-42 Sectional Title victory.

In addition to Todd’s 19 points, Sprow and Anna Lohman scored 12 each.  Blair Utendorf led Bluffton with 14 points and Ayla Grandey added 11.

Delta improves to 19-2 and moves on to face the Paulding Lady Panthers, a 53-40 winner over the Archbold Lady Blue Streaks on the same night, at Defiance High School on Wednesday night at 7:30 pm.

Bluffton Lady Pirates:  16-6-7-13 = 42    Blair Utendorf (14), Ayla Grandey (11), Gracie Warren (8), Maelee Miller (6), Macy Schaadt (2), Jordan Schweingruber (1)

Delta Lady Panthers:  10-4-16-17 = 47    Abby Todd (19), Kendal Sprow (12), Anna Lohman (12), Keagyn Gillen (4)