Quick start to second half propels Redskins

ST. HENRY - An 11-0 run to start the third quarter allowed St. Henry to pull away and hand Coldwater a 54-42 win on Senior Night at Redskin Gymnasium on Thursday night.

The Redskins go over the .500 mark overall on the season at 9-8 and improve to 4-4 in Midwest Athletic Conference play. The Cavaliers drop to 4-14 on the year and 2-6 in the conference.

The Cavaliers' difficulties came primarily through their cold shooting night. Coldwater was 15-of-62 from the field (24.2 percent) and 3-of-19 from behind the three-point line.

"The girls are frustrated, I know. We played (state-ranked) Wapak on Tuesday and played very well," said Coldwater coach Nick Fisher. "We come here tonight and I just don't think we played very well."

It didn't help matters that Redskin leading scorer Kenzie Bruggeman had a hot start to the night, scoring the first eight points for St. Henry. Bruggeman had 10 of the Redskins' 18 first-quarter points, personally outscoring Coldwater 10-9.

Coldwater, burnt several times on football passes down court to break the press, rebounded and cut away at the deficit. The Cavaliers forced the Redskins into nine second-quarter turnovers - 22 in the game - to go on an 8-0 run to cut the St. Henry lead to 23-21. Katie Lefeld had six points off the bench in the quarter.

Just when it looked like the Cavaliers would have momentum in their corner going into the break, Emily Post got a stickback as the horn sounded to give St. Henry a 25-21 lead at the half.

The momentum swing at the end of the first half carried over to the second half. Julie Moeder had back-to-back buckets and Heather Rammel and Becky Dirksen chipped in on the 11-0 run before Coldwater's Marla Hess ended the St. Henry streak with a three-pointer with 3:30 left in the quarter.

"That was an important run for us," said St. Henry assistant coach Larry Post, filling in for the absent Charlie Maier. "Our girls responded. We had a bit of a letdown at the end of the second quarter, but we came back, talked about some stuff at halftime and readjusted some stuff. They got after it in the third quarter."

Bruggeman was slowed down a bit over the last three quarters, but still managed to score a game-high 18 points. Post finished with 10 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Brooke Mattingly was held to five points, but pulled down 16 rebounds.

"We rebounded pretty well (a 40-35 advantage over the Cavaliers) and our defense was good enough," said Post. "Have to give credit to Coldwater, they came out and battled hard. They really bang you on the boards. Really aggressive."

Lefeld finished with 11 points while Kara Uhlenhake added nine points and 11 rebounds.

St. Henry travels to Fort Loramie on Saturday before returning home Monday to play Shawnee in a rescheduled contest. Coldwater hosts Botkins on Tuesday at The Palace.