By Cort Reynolds
VAN BUREN - Host Van Buren jumped out to a 20-point halftime lead and defeated Ada 69-29 in a non-conference girls basketball contest Monday evening.
The Bulldogs dropped to 2-5 with the loss, while the Lady Black Knights improved to 5-2 following the win.
VB put four players in double figures, led by Sophia Reineke and Mady Parker with 12 points apiece. Agnes Durliat and Reese Recker each netted 11 points.
Freshman guard Courtney Sumner topped Ada with eight points. Junior posts Miranda Wills and Megan Light added six and five points, respectively.
Wills had missed the previous two games with a broken nose.
VB led 18-4 after one period, and extended the margin to 32-12 at halftime. The Knights outscored Ada by 20 again in the second half, 37-17.
"We got beat on transition defense the whole game and didn't play hard the first half," said second-year Ada head coach Morgan Bass. "We were not aggressive and played passive. It was a disappointment."
The Knights sank 33 field goals, all of the two-point variety. VB only converted three of 10 free throws (30 percent).
Ada canned seven two-point baskets and two treys, and hit on nine of 19 foul shots (47 percent).
"They were very aggressive on the boards and we had trouble rebounding," said Bass. "We also did not handle their pressure on the press very well."
Ada also lost the two-quarter reserve game, 21-5.
Ada 29 (2-5)
Sumner 2 3-5 8, Poling 0 1-2 1, Light 2 1-2 5, Acheson 0 1-2 1, Waugh 0 1-2 1, Wills 2 2-6 6, Jordan 2 0-0 4, Blankenship 1 0-0 3. Totals: 9/9-19/29. 3-pointers: Blankenship 1, Sumner 1.
VB 69 (5-2)
Tabler 3 0-2 6, Reineke 6 0-0 12, I. Pawlak 2 0-0 4, Durliat 5 1-2 11, Bishop 2 1-2 5, Parker 6 0-0 12, Horne 2 0-0 4, Recker 5 1-4 11, M. Pawlak 2 0-0 4.
Totals: 33/3-10/69. 3-pointers: none.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 4 8 10 7 29
VB 18 14 22 15 69
JV: VB 21, Ada 5.
Ada (0-2 NWC) visits struggling backyard rival Allen East (0-4, 0-1 NWC) Thursday evening in a league contest.
"We are looking forward to Allen East," said Bass. "It should be a good game. They have the Newland girl (Tori) coming back."
AE won at Ada 65-31 last year as Newland scored 15 points. However, the Lady Mustangs lost most of the players from that team to graduation.
