End of the Line

VANDALIA - For three quarters, Minster was in control. But Fort Loramie never went away.

The Wildcats watched an early 10-point lead disappear and finally broke down in the fourth quarter as the Redskins came away with a 47-36 win in the Division IV regional semifinals at the Vandalia-Butler Student Activities Center.

The top-ranked Redskins now face Tri-Village on Saturday at 7 p.m. for a trip to the final four at the University of Datyon. The Patriots defeated Legacy Christian 53-42 in the nightcap.

"There's a lot of seniors on both sides, and that was very evident in the fact that the seniors on the floor were really engaged," Minster coach Mike Wiss said. "That being said, in the second half, they made a few more plays than we did."

Leading by one at the start of the fourth, the Wildcats gave up a layup on a back cut under the basket by Dana Rose with 7:11 left that gave Fort Loramie the lead for good. After two Minster turnovers, Jadyn Puthoff hit a three to put the Redskins up four. Ivy Wolf drained a three on the other end to answer, and Puthoff matched it within 30 seconds to make it a 40-36 lead with 4:33 to go.

Wolf's three marked the last points of the night for the Wildcats. Kenzie Hoelscher got free on another back cut to make it a six-point game with 2:21 left, the Wildcats turned the ball over, and the Redskins started to dribble out the clock.

Minster got one last chance down six with 1:39 to play when Fort Loramie's Caitlyn Gasson collided with Jenna Heuker at the edge of the paint and was called for an offensive foul. But 18 seconds later the Redskins tied up Wolf and got a jump ball called to win possession back, and Hoelscher put back a missed free throw for the final nail in the coffin.

When all was said and done, the Wildcats made just one field goal in the final eight minutes, only took five shots, and committed four turnovers.

"The backdoor lob to Rose was big, and the entry to the middle that one of our defenders fell down and scored," Wiss said. "And you know what, hats off to Jadyn Puthoff."

Minster made the first big run to start the game, coming out of a tight first quarter with a 12-3 run to start the second and taking a 10-point lead on a pair of free throws by Janae Hoying with 4:13 left. Ella Mescher hit a three to open the second and Wolf banked in another to extend the run.

But the Wildcats took their foot off the gas and Fort Loramie came roaring back. The Redskins shut Minster down the rest of the half and scored the next seven points to whittle the deficit down to three.

"They looked like they were out of whack (in the first half)," Wiss said.

Trailing by three at the half, the Redskins scored in the first 15 seconds of the third to cut it to 21-20 before Minster woke up. The Wildcats scored six in the next two minutes to take a 27-20 lead, with Wolf draining another three to cap off the short run. But within another two minutes, Fort Loramie had it tied at 27.

The Redskins got the lead late in the third at 32-31, but Brynn Oldiges hit a layup for the Wildcats with 44.2 seconds left to give them a one-point lead heading into the fourth, where the tide turned for good.  

Puthoff was the hero for Fort Loramie, finishing with 21 points and shooting 7-of-12 from the field and 4-of-5 from three. She scored 15 points in the second half to lead the late charge.

"If you can take away a Kenzie Hoelscher and you can take away the outside shots of a Corynn Heitkamp, and you can not allow number 11, Gasson, to get them into their offense, you have to feel pretty good," Wiss said. "But good teams have somebody that steps up, and tonight I gave (Puthoff) a pretty good hug when she walked through. That's a hell of an effort."

The loss brings a premature end to a legendary run for the Minster girls. In the past four years, the Wildcats won the state title twice and had reached the state semifinals last year when the season was called just hours before the Wildcats were to take the St. John Arena court against Fort Loramie. It was the first postseason loss for Wolf and the other seniors.

"Disappointed, yes, for all those kids in there," Wiss said, "but I think our staff, our kids, those fans that showed up tonight, Minster was engaged and we gave Loramie everything we could."