Redskins defeat Indians in state-ranked matchup

FORT RECOVERY - Just when it looked like Fort Recovery was going to go into halftime with a lead against Fort Loramie, Darian Rose made sure that the Redskins held a one-point advantage at the intermission.

Rose's jumper before the halftime horn sparked an 11-0 run that bridged the half and pushed the Redskins to a 65-58 win in a battle of state-ranked Division IV teams on Tuesday night at Fort Site Fieldhouse.

Fort Loramie, ranked sixth in the state poll, improves to 15-2 while the ninth-ranked Indians slip to a 10-3 record heading into Thursday's big Midwest Athletic Conference matchup against Versailles. The Indians and Tigers are the only teams undefeated in MAC play.

A 10-2 run by the Indians put Fort Recovery on top 25-17 in the latter stages of the second quarter, but Fort Loramie scored eight straight points to tie the score at 25-all with 1:56 left in the first half.

Fort Recovery's Chelsea Pottkotter connected on her third three-pointer of the opening half for a 28-25 advantage before Fort Loramie regained the lead at 29-28 with 52 seconds remaining in the opening half. Fort Recovery's Lexi Schmitz hit a pair of free throws with six seconds on the clock to give Fort Recovery a 30-28 lead but Rose dashed through the Indians' defense and hit a jumper from the free-throw line just before the horn to put the Redskins up 31-30 at halftime.

Rose's jumper to cap the first half and a 9-0 run to start the third quarter - ignited by baskets from Rose, Jessica Boerger and Meg Westerheide - helped the Redskins build a 40-30 advantage. Fort Recovery's Kara Jutte finally ended the Indians' 5:03 scoring drought but the Redskins were up by double figures.

"Defensively, we talked at halftime about denying that entry pass," said Redskins' coach Carla Siegel. "I thought Jessica stepped out, got a steal right away and Meg did a great job pressuring the ball. That was huge."

"We came out in the third quarter and weren't mentally smart," said Fort Recovery's coach Doug Bihn. "We made some dumb decisions the first 2-3 minutes. They beat us inside because they were getting layups."

Fort Loramie kept the defensive pressure on and added to its lead as the Redskins led by double digits until the final minute of the game.

A big advantage for the Redskins came in rebounding. The Indians, without an injured Melissa Lochtefeld (knee) and her 5.1 rebounds per game, were outrebounded 40-22, including a staggering 16-4 margin on the offensive glass.

"We didn't board. We lost Melissa last week for the year, but we have to find someone to clean the glass up for us," said Bihn. "Tonight we got our butts kicked on the boards. (If) we had some opportunities to take care of the rebounding in that 2-3 minute stretch (of the third quarter), it's a different ballgame."

Siegel had praise for Indians' sophomore Tori Lennartz, who was 11-of-19 from the field for a game-high 26 points.

"Oh my gosh! She's only a sophomore," said Siegel. "She had a phenomenal game. We had a hard time containing her."

Rose paced the Redskins with 18 points, Renae Meyer added 12 and Megan Imwalle scored nine.

Fiely and Pottkotter each finished with nine points for the Indians.