South Adams dismantles Blackford, 69-55

BERNE — Starfire coach Brett Freeman wanted his team to put together a better effort in the middle quarters.
They responded with their two highest-scoring quarters so far this season.
The South Adams High School girls basketball team scored 20 and 22 points respectively in the second and third quarters Saturday in a 69-55 victory over the Blackford Bruins.
South Adams (2-0) had a 12-9 lead after the first quarter, but exploded offensively in the second to lead 32-20 at half. It kept the offensive pressure going out of the break, lighting up the scoreboard for 22 more points.
Blackford (0-3), meanwhile, started to find its groove offensively, scoring 35 points in the final two quarters. But the deficit from the first half was too much to over come.
Starfire senior Cindy In’t Groen and sophomore Lexi Dellinger both had the best games of their careers, scoring 30 and 28 points respectively. Dellinger hit six shots from beyond the arc, and In’t Groen had 11 buckets inside the 3-point line.
Madi Wurster and Maddie Morgan each had four points.
Faith Morris led Blackford with 22 points.
The Starfires’ junior varsity squad also won, 20-17, to move to 2-0 on the season.

Twins lead SA
OSSIAN — Twins Ashton and Brette Klopp won two individual events and contributed on another winning relay as the South Adams girls swim team finished second Saturday at the Norwell Invitational.
South Adams scored 250 points, well behind team champion Oak Hill’s 363. Host Norwell finished third with 205.
Ashton won both the 200-yard freestyle (2 minutes, 5.18 seconds) and 100 butterfly (1:01.93), and Brette touched the wall first in the 200 individual medley (2:32.6) and 100 backstroke (1:04.64). They also joined Olivia Von Gunten and Ashley LeFever to win the 200 freestyle relay in 1:46.48, and the same squad was second in the 400 freestyle relay.
LeFever was the runner-up in both the 50 and 100 freestyle races, and Von Gunten added a pair of third place finishes in the 200 IM and 500 freestyle.
Caroline Kloepper (fifth – 50 freestyle), Audrey Burson (fifth – 100 breaststroke) and Victoria Richardson (eighth – 100 breaststroke) also scored points for the Starfires.

Reitz honored
INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Colts offensive lineman Joe Reitz was awarded the Ed Block Courage Award by the team on Friday.
Reitz, who is the son of former Jay County residents Dave and Jane Reitz, was selected by his teammates for the award for displays of courage on the field.
“It’s an honor to receive the Ed Block Courage Award,” Reitz said in a statement. “To know that my teammates nominated me is very humbling for myself and my family. I’m extremely grateful I get to play in the NFL for a living.
“I’m just as grateful having the opportunity to give back to the community that I grew up in. I love Indianapolis and look forward to having the chance to continue to serve the great people here in Indiana.”
Reitz graduated from Hamilton Southeastern before giving up football to play basketball for Western Michigan University. He had stints with both the Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins as a practice player before joining the Colts in 2010.