Getting hot when it counts

MINSTER - For three minutes in the second quarter, Minster and New Bremen couldn't find the basket.

But the Wildcats got going first, and they never looked back.

Minster went on an 10-2 run in the final 3:30 before halftime to turn a one-point lead into a nine-point lead, then blew the lid off with another 11-2 run to start the third to earn a 56-48 victory at Wildcat Gymnasium Thursday night.

"I was really happy with our defensive effort, to not allow them what we call open looks," Minster coach Mike Wiss said. "Get a hand in somebody's face, alter a shot. There's plenty of things to work on, I get that. It's our game two, as it is their game three. We didn't shoot the ball great, but sometimes their defense has something to do with that, sometimes us rushing ourselves."

Ivy Wolf broke the three-minute drought with a free throw and Ella Mescher hit two key layups as the Wildcats started to pull away. After Elli Roetgerman hit a pair of free throws with 14.5 seconds left, snapping the scoring drought for the Cardinals after six minutes, Minster responded with a flurry of shots, grabbing two offensive rebounds before Mescher scored from underneath the net as the buzzer sounded.

"We had a little set for Ella, her going to the basket," Wiss said. "She used the glass very well. Those were big buckets, because that was at a time when Ivy had (three) fouls at the end of the first half."

The Wildcats didn't miss a beat after halftime, as Janae Hoying hit a trey on the first possession and the scoring continued. Minster went up 40-24 on another shot from Mescher with 5:29 left and stretched the lead to 18 before the Cardinals could respond.

New Bremen didn't go down quietly, cutting the lead to eight in the fourth quarter. But the Wildcats held there, and the comeback stalled out late as the Cardinals couldn't get enough shots to fall.

"A basket here or there, they get a couple of those ones that roll around the rim and fall off, and who knows?" New Bremen coach Chris Burden said. "But that's the 'if' game. You've just got to get it done."

Minster brought heavy pressure from the opening whistle, and although it didn't rattle the Cardinals early, the Wildcats forced them into 19 turnovers as the game went along. The turnovers proved particularly costly for New Bremen in key moments, and a string of three straight giveaways contributed to Minster's run before the half.  

"It just kind of wears on you," Stephens said. "They keep that pressure throughout the whole game, and at times you're going to have a turnover or two here. It's how you respond to that, and I'm proud of our girls and how they responded."

Mescher and Hoying each recorded double-digit outings, with Mescher scoring 13 points and Hoying coming in with 10. Brynn Oldiges had nine rebounds for the Wildcats.

Wolf led both teams with 20 points.

"You can try to take her away as much as you want," Wiss said of Wolf. "She's a skilled athlete that understands the game, and she's smart. She's going to take what they give you, and I think there were some times that she rushed a little bit, but that's a Division I player. We're going to give her those opportunities."

The top scorer for the Cardinals was Madison Cordonnier with 13, while Roetgerman had 10 as the Cardinals came within eight points of the Wildcats 11 months after Minster beat them 66-27 on the same floor.

"They gave everything physically, they gave everything mentally, they gave everything, above and beyond what we asked of them," Burden said. "I'm just proud of the way that we came on the road and played."

Both teams are in action on Saturday. Minster makes the short trip south against another backyard rival in Fort Loramie. New Bremen will look to bounce back against Delphos Jefferson.