Defensive measures

WAPAKONETA - The first time Minster and New Knoxville met this season, Minster escaped the Barn in New Knoxville with a nine-point win.

The return bout wasn't as close.

The Wildcats cranked up the defense and shot well in capturing the program's sixth straight Division IV girls basketball district title with a 53-33 win on Saturday at Wapakoneta High School.

The win allows Minster (24-1) to go to the Student Activity Center at Vandalia-Butler High School on Thursday to face Fort Loramie in a 5:30 p.m. rematch from the teams' December meeting won by Loramie in Shelby County. The 8 p.m. matchup has Tri-Village taking on Legacy Christian out of Xenia. The regional final is Saturday at 7 p.m. for a berth to the final four at the University of Dayton Arena.

"Earlier this year, Knoxville held us to 38 at their place," said Minster coach Mike Wiss of the Wildcats' 38-29 win at New Knoxville during the regular season. "I thought for the most part (on Saturday), I thought we controlled the tempo. It didn't always look pretty, but that's MAC basketball."

"You've got to score more than 33 points. They did a great job on defense," said New Knoxville coach Tim Hegemier. "Every time we went up for the shot, they were right in their face."

New Knoxville (21-5) got the first points of the game on a pair of Carsyn Henschen free throws, but after that, it was all Minster. After Mason Pohl tied the game, Ivy Wolf knocked down a 3-pointer with 4:46 left in the first quarter to put the Wildcats up to stay. By the end of the first quarter, Minster was up 14-6 and quickly raised the lead to double digits for the majority of the game. Minster's defense kept the Rangers' offense from getting any consistency by forcing 11 turnovers and holding them to just 3-of-19 shooting from the field.

"You don't see it a lot from New Knoxville when the ball flips off their hands. That's not typically them," said Wiss. "I'm pleased that because of pressure throughout the game, it might have forced (some turnovers). At the end of the game, those possessions are big."

"We had 3-4 (shot attempts) right under the bucket and couldn't put them back in," said Hegemier. "Playing a good team like (Minster), you can't give those up."

The lead increased to 41-21 at the half and Minster never let up on the accelerator, outscoring New Knoxville 26-20 in the second half as Wiss played his entire 15-player roster by the final horn.

Wolf finished with 19 points to lead all scorers. Hoying and Brynn Oldiges each chipped in with nine.

"It's tough to hold Ivy Wolf down," said Hegemier. "She's a great player. We had some defensive letdowns with help defense and switching. The got 3-4 easy buckets."

Morgan Leffel, the lone senior for New Knoxville, scored 13 in her final game. Carsyn Henschen added seven points and nine rebounds.

"Hopefully, the girls learn from this and get stronger," said Hegemier. "We have four starters coming back, so hopefully we can make it back next year."

"I'm pretty darned pleased with the defensive effort Minster showed tonight," said Wiss. "Single digits (each quarter) until the fourth quarter (a 12-12 draw in the final period)."