Gritty defensive effort carries Cats past Cavs

MINSTER - Any championship-caliber basketball team throughout history has hung its hat on the defensive end.

If Thursday is any indication, Minster fits that mold.

After getting outscored by Coldwater 12-6 in the first quarter, the defending MAC champion Wildcats dug in defensively - limiting the Cavaliers to 21 points on 6-of-23 shooting over the final three quarters en route to a 48-33 victory.

Ali Borgerding had game-highs in points (13) and rebounds (nine) points for Minster. Courtney Prenger chipped in with 12 points and six rebounds and Rosie Westerbeck added nine points as the Wildcats improved to 4-0 and 2-0 in MAC play.

The Cavaliers were held to a season low in scoring on 11-of-43 shooting as they fell to 5-2 and 1-2 in the MAC.

"The team defensive effort given by us tonight is what needs to happen in basketball when you're playing in the MAC," Minster coach Mike Wiss said. "It's physical. It's rough. It's tough. Not every foul's going to get called ... it is what it is. I'm proud of my kids. They really came out and played defense the way it's supposed to be played."

Olivia Harlamert and Danielle Welsch combined for 10 of the 12 points for Coldwater in the opening quarter. Minster connected on just 3-of-13 shooting and tallied five turnovers as it fell into a six-point hole.

But the Wildcats used in-your-face defense to flip the script rather quickly in the second quarter. They outscored Coldwater 18-3 in that span, which included a 10-0 run to end the quarter. All five Minster starters scored. Borgerding and Prenger scored the first eight points for the Wildcats to give them the lead for good at 16-14.

Alli Fisher knocked down a pair of three-pointers late in the quarter, Westerbeck scored her first basket of the evening and Lindsey Roetgerman ended the 10-0 run with a jumper as time expired for a 26-15 lead.

"They came out of a timeout with about three minutes left and they changed their defense to a 1-2-2," Wiss explained. "We reversed the ball one time and Alli Fischer hit a shot from the wing. I told them at halftime that was a key to that run. There were a couple kids that got their feet set against the zone. They ran it two or three possessions and then when you hit a couple jumpers, it's time to get out of it. And when they get out of it, then it's time to pound the ball to Courtney."

Coldwater missed all seven shot attempts in the second period and committed six turnovers. Minster, meanwhile, went 7-of-10 from the field.

"That first quarter was a great start," Coldwater coach Connie May said. "I mean, if you look at the book, we were even with them for three quarters. It was that second quarter that did us in. They just brought it and we didn't handle that very well."

Minster maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the way. Coldwater trailed 36-25 entering the fourth, but Borgerding dashed any hope of a Cavalier comeback in the first minute. The senior had a stickback off an offensive rebound and drilled a triple from the corner on the next possession, which expanded the Wildcats' lead to 42-25.

"There's definitely parts that we could have played better," May said. "We went to a zone a little bit in the second quarter and now you kind of want to shoot yourself for it because we were actually handling their inside game pretty well that first quarter with our man and we were taking care of some things. They continued to pound it in and pound it in and we decided to change it up a little bit.

"But they had great discipline and they have great athleticism inside, and that's impressive. Overall, there were a lot of things we did well. I thought Danielle Welsch played well against Courtney Prenger."

Harlamert and Kourtney Diller paced Coldwater with seven points each. Welsch added six points and a team-high eight rebounds.

After shooting 3-of-13 in the first quarter, Minster made its next 16-of-34 shot attempts. The Wildcats went 3-of-6 from the three-point line and 7-of-11 from the charity stripe.

Both teams are back in action on Saturday. Coldwater hosts 5-0 Ottoville and Minster hosts 1-4 Van Wert.