Wildcats shut down Cougars

MINSTER - Minster girls basketball coach Nann Stechschulte looked uncomfortably perplexed as she made her way to the locker room at halftime of the Wildcats' game with Van Wert on Saturday afternoon.

It was obvious the veteran coach had a dozen things on her mind as her girls held a 17-16 edge over the Cougars, having blown a six-point cushion over the course of the final three minutes of the second quarter.

Whatever speech she recited behind closed doors at intermission obviously worked though, as the Wildcats came out as a seemingly different team in the second half in the Wildcats' 52-25 win over the Cougars.

"There have been a few games this season where we seem like a different team from one half to the next in the same game and that has been something we have discussed," remarked Stechschulte. "I have tried a few different combinations on the floor to fix it, but playing like we are capable of playing is something the girls need to decide that we want to do right away."

The Wildcats had few answers for Van Wert's 2-3 zone or for senior Erin Morrow as the Van Wert guard scored all seven of her team's points in the opening period to give the Cougars a 7-6 advantage heading into the second quarter. The Wildcats calmly responded to what would be their only deficit of the game by igniting the second quarter with a jump shot from Ali Borgerding. A few moments later, Rosie Westerbeck grabbed a rebound and rifled a pass to Logan Arnold, who took it to the hoop, giving the home team a 10-7 lead. The two teams traded buckets on the next couple of possessions before a long ball by Mariah McKenzie and another bucket by Borgerding gave the Wildcats their fattest cushion of the game to that point at 17-11. Van Wert closed the half with a three-pointer by Meghan Moonshower and a 10-footer from Emma Kohn, and Minster's command was trimmed to one point at 17-16 at intermission.

"There are times we tend to get out of control and want to run and then we just make bad decisions," explained Stechschulte. "We want the girls to be quick, but not in a hurry. We need to take care of the ball. In the first half, we forced it inside rather than being patient and waiting for girls to get open. This made our posts chase the ball rather than waiting for the ball to come to them. We addressed that at halftime and in the second half I think we settled in and took better care of the ball. Patience is a virtue. They need patience. So do I and we will all work on that together."

Hannah Schmitmeyer opened the third quarter with a free throw, but the score became knotted at 18 points within a few moments, thanks to a bucket underneath by the Cougars' Alexa Dunlap. Minster then scored the final 14 points of the third stanza and enjoyed a 32-18 lead heading into the final period. The Orange and Black continued their relentless press in the final quarter and forced numerous turnovers. A three-pointer by Alexis Wuebker gave Minster a 37-18 lead before Van Wert hit its first basket in more than nine minutes. The shot made little difference though, as the Wildcats notched 15 of the game's next 20 points and coasted to the 27-point victory.

"I'm really not sure who that team was in the first half," Stechschulte admitted. "I asked the girls what the difference was between the first half and the third quarter and they all responded that it was our intensity. I agreed with them and asked why we can't just bring that kind of intensity from the tip off."

The Wildcats were paced in scoring on the afternoon by Ali Borgerding's 10 points, while Rosie Westerbeck corralled 11 rebounds in the victory. Minster (5-2) is back in action tonight when they square off with the Lima Central Catholic Thunderbirds in the opener of the McDonald's Holiday Classic at Bath High School.