ADA - Visiting league co-leader Bluffton outscored Ada by 22 points over the middle quarters to post a convincing 69-41 girls basketball win over the Lady Bulldogs in Northwest Conference play Thursday evening.
The purple and gold fell to 7-13 and 1-6 in the NWC after their fourth straight defeat, while the visitors improved to 15-4 and 7-0 in the league with the victory.
Bluffton will face co-league unbeaten Columbus Grove (6-0 NWC) in the conference finale to decide the championship.
Pirate sophomore point guard Alivia Koening poured in a game-high 32 points, including seven three-point goals, to lead the Bucs to victory.
The No. 5-ranked Ohio Northern women's basketball team improved to 22-0 and clinched the Ohio Athletic Conference Regular Season title outright with an 81-57 victory at Heidelberg on Wednesday evening at Sieberling Gymnasium.
The Polar Bears are 15-0 in the OAC and have a four-game lead over Baldwin Wallace and Wilmington with three games to go in the regular season.
The Polar Bears did not trail in the contest and used a 15-2 run to take a 23-6 lead after the first quarter.
Northern led 43-22 at halftime and the Student Princes would get no closer than 13 points the rest of the way.
ONU has clinched the No. 1 seed and a double bye in the OAC Tournament.
Ohio Northern extended its winning streak to 10 games with a 91-78 men's basketball victory over Heidelberg on Wednesday night at the ONU Sports Center.
The Polar Bears improve to 15-7 overall and remain in a first place tie in the Ohio Athletic Conference with No. 10-ranked Marietta with a 13-2 record.
The Student Princes fall to 9-13, 5-10.
Senior Devon Allen (Lima/Senior) led ONU in scoring for the fifth time in the last six games with a game-high 21 points. He has surpassed the 20-point plateau in all five of those games and in eight games overall this season.
The Ohio Northern women's track and field team jumped one spot to No. 15 in the third weekly United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association power rankings.
This marks the highest that the Polar Bears (30-6 overall) have ever ranked nationally.
Northern returns to the track Saturday as they travel to Westerville to compete in the All-Ohio Championships.
ADA - The visiting Fostoria girls basketball team rode a 19-0 spurt midway through a close contest to a 72-61 non-conference win over Ada Tuesday evening.
The purple and gold fell to 7-12, while the visitors improved to 6-12 with the defeat.
Ada senior Haley Wyss tallied a career-high 26 points, but the big Lady Red run bridging the middle periods spelled the difference. Fostoria outscored Ada 22-11 in the third period, including 13-0 at the outset.
The ONU wrestling team got a pair of pins and won four weight classes by forfeit in a 47-3 dual meet victory at Muskingum on Tuesday night at the Steele Center.
The Polar Bears improve to 11-3 overall and are 4-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, while the Muskies fall to 3-9, 0-5.
The Polar Bears return to varsity action next Tuesday when they wrap up their regular season with an OAC dual with Heidelberg on Senior Night at the ONU Sports Center.
