By Cort Reynolds
MT. BLANCHARD - The visiting Ada girls basketball team lost a defensive battle to non-league foe Riverdale 39-26 Tuesday night.
The Lady Bulldogs led 6-4 after the first period, but Ada went scoreless in the second stanza to fall behind 16-6 at intermission.
Riverdale extended the lead to 33-13 with a 17-7 third quarter run.
Ada outscored the Lady Falcons 13-6 in the final period, but the 20-point deficit was too much to overcome.
The purple and gold dropped to 1-3 with the defeat. Riverdale improved to 1-1 with the win.
"It was disappointing," said Ada third-year head coach Morgan Bass.
Lady Bulldog sophomore playmaker Courtney Sumner tallied 13 points in the second half to end up with a game-high 15 markers. She netted 10 points in the final stanza.
Hanna Breidenbach led Riverdale with eight points. No Falcon tallied in double figures but they had nine players score, with four netting between six and eight points.
Freshman guard Olivia Burkhart and junior wing Kirsten Poling each netted four points for the purple and gold.
Riverdale outscored the Bulldog girls 29-7 over the middle quarters to take control. Ada won the first and fourth periods by a combined total of 19-10.
Falcon Reagan McKinniss scored all six of her points in the second stanza as Riverdale shut Ada out to build a 10-point margin at half.
The Lady Bulldogs sank just 10 field goals, hitting nine two-pointers and one shot from three-point territory. The Bulldogs sank five of 11 foul shots (45 percent).
The Falcon girls canned 19 total field goals, including 18 two-pointers and one triple. Riverdale misfired on all five of their free throw attempts (0 percent).
Riverdale also won the reserve contest, 34-29.
Ada 26 (1-3)
Sumner 5 4-6 15, Poling 2 0-1 4, Light 1 1-2 3, Burkhart 2 0-0 4, Waugh 0, King 0, Acheson 0.
Totals: 9-1/5-11/26. 3-pointer: Sumner 1.
Riverdale 39 (1-1)
Howell 2 0-0 4, Breidenbach 4 0-2 8, Searfoss 3 0-0 6, Rothlisberger 1 0-0 2, Sudlow 1 0-0 2, Vent 3 0-2 6, McKinniss 3 0-1 6, Thacker 1 0-0 3, Newcomer 1 0-0 2.
Totals: 18-1/0-5/39. 3-pointer: Thacker 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 6 0 7 13 26
Rdl 4 12 17 6 39
JV: Riverdale 34, Ada 29.
Ada (0-1 NWC) plays at local rival Bluffton (2-3, 0-1 NWC) Thursday evening, Dec. 12 in a conference bout. The Pirate girls lost at unbeaten Ottoville 44-36 last Saturday in their most recent contest.
"Bluffton is athletic so I am sure they will push the ball when they can and shoot a lot of three's," said coach Bass. "We will need to get back on defense, try to slow them down and rebound."
The Bulldogs are 1-1 on the road after winning at Perry last Saturday. Ada is averaging 34 points a game while allowing 42.8 ppg so far this season.
