Wildcats run MAC table

COLDWATER - Before Thursday's game, Minster girls basketball coach Nann Stechschulte pointed out to her team that the program's 13 previous Midwest Athletic Conference titles were all outright titles.

Call it a subtle hint.

Minster worked the ball inside to freshman Courtney Prenger early and often and the defense shut down Coldwater in the middle two quarters to allow the Wildcats to run the table in the conference with a 44-33 win at the Palace.

"We haven't won the MAC in five years," Stechschulte said. "It's nice to get that. To run the table in the MAC doesn't happen often, either.

"I did point that out to them before the game (the outright titles). I said 'Do you want this to be 13-1 or 14-0?' "

Coldwater, known for its defensive pressure, came ready to play. After spotting Minster a 10-3 lead early in the first quarter, Coldwater scored seven straight points on two-pointers from Denise Schwieterman and Brooke Klosterman and a three-pointer from Kourtney Diller to tie the game at 10-all with seven seconds left. Lindsey Roetgerman quickly put the Wildcats back in front with a buzzer-beating jumper from the foul line to make it 12-10.

After about 90 seconds of back-and-forth play, Prenger and the Wildcats went to work to put some distance between themselves and the Cavaliers. Two quick Prenger goals made it 19-14 with 4:09 left in the half and then Hayley Baumer scored with 3 1/2 minutes left in the period to make it a 21-14 game and prompt a timeout from Coldwater coach Connie May. Prenger had eight of the 15 second-quarter points for Minster, which led 27-19 at half.

"Courtney really wanted the ball," Stechschulte said. "She was working hard. Sometimes post players are just in there looking, but she really wanted the ball. We've been working on getting it inside. That's not all that easy to get it in there, either. It's good guard play to get it in and (Prenger) working hard to get position to get the ball and do something with it."

"Their inside game really hurt us," May said. "They're very physical and aggressive. Hats' off to the defense that they played. That's what secured the victory."

Minster applied the finishing touches in the third quarter, holding Coldwater to just three points. The Cavaliers nearly went the final 5:27 of the quarter without a point until Maura Hoying hit a free throw with 2.3 seconds left to close out the quarter with Minster ahead 37-22.

"This team has bought in to working very hard," Stechschulte said. "And they take pride in playing defense. That's why I love this team."

Even with the big lead, Minster could not start celebration of the outright title as Coldwater continued to put pressure on the Wildcats and work to get closer. However, Coldwater was only able to manage to get within 11 on Diller's last-second three-pointer.

"Our defense was pretty good except down in the paint," May said. "We struggled to contain Courtney and not get the ball in or double-down to get some double teams on her."

Prenger finished the game with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Roetgerman added eight points.

Diller led Coldwater with nine.

Minster wraps up the regular season on Tuesday at Wapakoneta. Coldwater travels to New Knoxville next Thursday to finish the season.