Monday, March 18th, 2019
Division IV Girls State Basketball Championship
Back to Back
Minster repeats as state champs; wins 4th title in program history
By Colin Foster
Photo by Dan Melograna/The Daily Standard
The Minster Wildcats celebrate their 53-37, victory over Ottoville on Saturday by hoisting the Division IV State Championship trophy at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus.
COLUMBUS - The Minster girls basketball team went to Columbus as defending state champs.
The Wildcats rolled out of town as back-to-back champs.
Janae Hoying scored a game-high 19 points, Courtney Prenger added 16 and Minster outscored Ottoville by 20 over the final three quarters en route to a 53-37 victory on Saturday at the Schoettenstein Center in a rematch of last year's Division IV state title game.
"Today was the last game anyone in the state of Ohio could play in," said Prenger, who will continue her career at Xavier. "You can't ask for anything else but that."
It was Minster's fourth girls basketball title and 36th overall in school history. The Wildcats also became the first Midwest Athletic Conference girls team to win consecutive basketball titles since Fort Recovery in 1990-1991. A Minster girls program has now produced at least one state championship in five consecutive calendar seasons.
"I think they started the '36' chant in our stands pretty damn premature than what I would have liked," said a smiling Minster coach Mike Wiss. "But it speaks to our league. It speaks to the people around us. It speaks to the kids that we have."
Minster, the second-ranked team in the final Associated Press state poll, finishes the year with a record of 28-1, its lone loss to Fort Loramie. Minster avenged that loss with a double-digit victory over top-ranked Loramie in the regional final. Ottoville, ranked No. 6 in the final AP poll, ends the season with a mark of 25-4. Two of the four losses were to Minster.
"I told the girls they had 10 minutes to get their crying done because it's not a sad day," Ottoville coach Dave Kleman said. "It's a good day - we're No. 2 in the state two years in a row to Minster, whose a quality team, a very good team, well-coached, good players and really, off the floor we kind of like them. On the floor, we don't. That's the competitive thing."
Minster simply had too much talent, depth and defense for Ottoville - or any other team in the state - to handle. A game that started out as a battle turned into another big-cushion win for Minster.
The first half featured four lead changes and one tie. Ottoville's largest lead was six (13-7) and Minster's was eight (25-17). The Big Green led 13-9 after one quarter. The Wildcats led 25-19 at halftime.
Kasey Knippen got enough space to make two 3-pointers in the first quarter, but the Big Green's top player made just one shot after and finished with nine points on 3 of 14 shooting.
Hoying made two treys in the second quarter on her way to a half-high eight points. Hoying's first 3 gave the Wildcats an 18-16 lead with 4 1/2 minutes left and they never trailed again. She dialed up her second from long distance a minute later and then Ivy Wolf scored off a steal as Minster began to take control.
The Wildcats were 4 of 11 shooting in the first quarter but finished the half 10 of 19. The Big Green were 7 of 26.
"We always talk about creating space and getting open on the floor. When we finally did that, we had a lot of open looks and we had a lot of open lanes to take, too," said Hoying, who has also helped the track and cross country teams win state titles.
Then came the avalanche in the third quarter.
Prenger toughed her way up for four straight points within the first minute. Hoying picked an Ottoville player clean and converted with her left hand, extending Minster's lead to 31-19 with 6:52 remaining.
"We tried the zone to try and stop Prenger, then they hit the 3s," Kleman said. "Then we went to man to help cover that, then they threw it in to Prenger and why wouldn't you? Mike's not stupid. He's a very smart guy. He figures out what you're trying to play and what way you can take advantage of it."
The Prenger-Hoying tandem was just getting warmed up.
Prenger scored eight points in the third, Hoying dropped in seven and Minster upped its lead to 42-26.
"Ottoville really took it right at us in the first quarter," Wiss said. "They were definitely playing with a little bit of an edge. Maybe we weren't initially. But after several TV timeouts, a good quarter break and and then an even better halftime, I just want to compliment our kids on how the third quarter started. These two sitting right next to me (Prenger and Hoying) played a huge part in it."
Haley Hoersten scored 10 points to lead Ottoville, which made 12 of 40 shots.
Ivy Wolf had nine points for Minster. Prenger totaled eight rebounds and Demaris Wolf distributed a game-high six assists.
The Wildcats made 20 of 42 shots. Adding in Friday's 27 of 47 shooting performance against Cornerstone Christian, Minster finished state 53 percent from the field while holding opponents to 28 percent.
After the game, Kleman likened Minster to the New England Patriots.
"I told the girls they're kind of like the New England Patriots for everyone else in the NFL," Kleman said. "If you would just get them out of the way, everyone else would have a chance to win the dang thing."
The difference? Minster doesn't ever lose when it reaches the finals. The Wildcats improved to 4-0 in state title games.
"We hadn't been here since 2010," Wiss remarked. "The last two years, I honestly think we've played pretty good basketball on this floor. I'm really pleased with how our girls handled this weekend. It's a lot of fun. They have a lot of fun together, but they really know when it's business."
Photo by Dan Melograna/The Daily Standard
Minster's Ivy Wolf (4) dives for a loose ball against Ottoville's Kasey Knippen (23) in the second half of the Division IV state championship on Saturday at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus.
Photo by Dan Melograna/The Daily Standard
Minster's Janae Hoying (13) rises for two of her 19 points against Ottoville in the second half of the Division IV state championship on Saturday at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus.
Photo by Dan Melograna/The Daily Standard
Minster's Courtney Prenger (30) hits a jumper against Ottoville in the second half of the Division IV state championship on Saturday at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus.
Photo by Dan Melograna/The Daily Standard
Minster's Demaris Wolf (right) fights Ottoville players for a loose ball in the first half of the Division IV state championship on Saturday at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus.
Photo by Dan Melograna/The Daily Standard
Minster's Karly Richard (14), left, hugs Lauren Max and Ivy Wolf after Saturday's win over Ottoville.
