Battle to the end

MINSTER - Minter coach Mike Wiss didn't have to say a word to his squad after Marion scored eight straight points at the end of the first quarter to take a 15-14 lead. The Wildcats quickly bounced back to take a big lead at the half

But after regaining the lead, Wiss needed two timeouts to get his squad out of the malaise they were in starting the third quarter.

After the second timeout, the Wildcats returned to form and pulled away for a 47-36 win over the Flyers in girls' MAC play at Wildcat Gymnasium. The win puts Minster at 14-1 and 5-0 in conference play as Marion drops to 7-7 and 1-4.

Minster was up 14-7 late in the first quarter before Marion's Natalie Rethman got hot. Rethman scored eight straight points, the final three on a buzzer-beating trey to put the Flyers in front 15-14.

The Wildcats quickly regained the lead on Jessica Falk's trey with a minute gone in the second quarter, triggering a 16-0 run as Courtney Prenger, scoreless in the first quarter, scored six points during the period. Kelsey Koenig's bucket with 33 seconds left in the half kept the Flyers from getting shut out.

"It's uncustomary for us to give up 15 points in a quarter," said Wiss, whose squad entered the game allowing just 29.5 points per game. "I never said a word about it at the end of the first quarter. After not saying anything about it, in the second quarter we gave up two."

"(Minster) picked up the pressure in the second quarter," Flyers coach Beth Streib said. "It's not like we didn't have good shots. We weren't hitting them."

At the start of the third quarter, both teams were a bit sluggish, but Minster struggled in shooting point-blank shots and with turnovers. The Wildcats either missed a shot or turned over the ball on their first nine trips down the floor. Natalie Rethman and younger sister Heidi scored the first six points of the half to whittle the Minster lead to 30-23 with 3 1/2 minutes left in the quarter. Wiss, who had called a full timeout with 5:25 remaining in the quarter, called a 30-second break after Prenger snapped the skid with a bucket.

"Honestly, we didn't get out of the funk in the third quarter. We didn't start with any energy. It took two timeouts," said Wiss. "After the second one, we were back to who we are."

The Wildcats responded, allowing Marion two points the rest of the quarter as Prenger scored 10 of the 12 points in the period - including the final six - to put the Wildcats in front 42-25 heading to the fourth quarter.

"We got the ball back inside to Courtney Prenger. We got looks outside. Honest to God, we were a bit more patient," said Wiss. "It doesn't have to be a rush. Yes, you want to get the ball up the floor fast and (if) you have an opportunity, take it! But we don't want it to be a rushed opportunity. Credit Marion. They shot the ball pretty decent."

"(Minster) cranked up their intensity and we had some erratic decisions," said Streib. "They feed off those, so if you have them, they're going to cash in on that."

Prenger finished the night with 16 points and six rebounds. Demaris Wolf scored all 10 of her points in the first quarter.

"Demaris's first quarter was pretty good after maybe struggling a little bit on Saturday (in Minster's loss to Fort Loramie)," said Wiss. "Ivy (Wolf) distributed the ball well and had some assists, and Courtney (Prenger), in the middle of the third quarter, really did what Courtney Prenger should do."

The Rethmans each had 10 points to lead Marion.

"The girls continued to fight the whole game," said Streib. "I was proud of their effort the whole time."

Weather permitting, Minster travels to Trent Arena in Kettering to face the top-ranked team in Division II Dayton Carroll at the Flyin' To The Hoop showcase at 11:30 a.m. Marion is off until Tuesday when St. Marys travels to the Hangar.