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Fort Recovery's Kennedy Muhlenkamp puts up a shot as Parkway's Colbie Smith defends at Panther Gymnasium on Thursday.
ROCKFORD - Fort Recovery's defense stepped up, Kennedy Muhlenkamp made one key shot after another, and the Indians beat Parkway 38-30 for their first Midwest Athletic Conference girls basketball win at Panther Gymnasium on Thursday.
"That game was just huge for us, morale-wise, from the top to the bottom," Fort Recovery coach Tyler Deitsch said. "They go out and win the MAC last year, and we come in winning one game in the MAC from last year, bringing back a lot of the same girls … our girls played their butts off. They played so hard."
Fort Recovery (2-4, 1-1 MAC) slowly built up the lead, but the Panthers closed back within two when Adria Miller drove for a layup with 6:36 left in the game.
Paige Williamson got a rebound on the other end but threw a pass out of bounds. Miller's next shot was blocked by Muhlenkamp and rebounded by Makenna Huelskamp, and Huelskamp took a three that rattled home to make it a five-point game.
Parkway (2-2, 1-1 MAC) turned it over twice more before Hughes hit a turnaround jumper to get back within three. Huelskamp stole the ball on the Panthers' next possession, got fouled, and hit two free throws, and though Bryn Schoenleben hit a free throw to make it a four-point game with 2:03 remaining, that was as close as Parkway got.
"I wasn't pleased with our energy level," Parkway coach Dan Williamson said. "I don't think it was intentional. It just seemed like we were out there waiting for somebody to make a play."
After a jump ball turnover, Deitsch called timeout with 1:35 left to set up the late possession. The Indians dribbled 48 seconds off the clock with only one Parkway foul before Huelskamp then passed out of a trap and found Saige Leuthold for an easy layup to seal the win.
All told, the Panthers committed six turnovers in the fourth quarter with the game within five points.
"We see a flash of white, and we just throw it, we don't look," coach Williamson said. "Lack of focus, lack of - I don't want to say experience, because we've got a lot of girls with varsity experience. I don't know what it was. It was kind of uncharacteristic, I think, but I can't fault them for trying to make a play."
Fort Recovery was able to keep top scoring threat Paige Williamson in check, with Cali Wendel guarding her most of the night. Williamson shot 2-for-8 in the first half with a pair of threes, but then went 0-for-4 in the second half.
"We knew we weren't going to be able to help off on her a ton," Deitsch said, "but you know when things get down to the nitty-gritty, down at the end when they need points, they're going to have to go for her. So then we turned the pressure on her, trying to limit her touches as much as possible, versus taking away all of her space early."
Wendel, the Indians' best shooter, hit three treys in the first half but was held to two points in the second. That left Muhlenkamp and Miller dueling it out, going shot for shot for a stretch in the second quarter.
Muhlenkamp finished with a game-high 13 points, with eight in the second quarter to stave off Parkway's best run.
Parkway's Adria Miller tries to drive as Fort Recovery's Sophia Guggenbiller guards.
"Kennedy finally started finishing down low, so she was able to get inside and get some of those shots," Deitsch said.
Miller sparked the Panthers after Fort Recovery took a four-point lead early in the second quarter, hitting a baseline jump shot with 5:02 left to cut the lead to 12-10. A minute later, she fired a cross-court pass to Williamson, who knocked down a three to put Parkway in front.
Miller added another long jumper with 3:06 left, but Muhlenkamp came back with a layup 22 seconds later. Miller hit a floater in the lane, and Muhlenkamp answered in 11 seconds.
"Adria really found a way to get open and knock down some big shots for them, that really kept them in it," Deitsch said. "We knew the girls who could really get hot and do a lot of damage, and if she was going to be the one to beat us, I would've been okay with that."
With Parkway up 17-16 with just over a minute left in the half, Huelskamp missed a breakaway layup, but Muhlenkamp was there for the putback to make it 18-17 Indians. After a miss on the other end, Muhlenkamp added another bucket with 41.4 seconds left in the quarter, and Fort Recovery never trailed again.
For her part, Miller finished with 11 points and added six rebounds and three steals.
"She did a good job of looking to score, made some shots, and that's exactly what we need from her," coach Williamson said. "We've talked about that. Her looking to be more aggressive, take open shots. We know that she's a good player, she's very smart. Too unselfish at times - she had some shots and she passed them up."
Fort Recovery's Karlie Niekamp reaches out for a rebound in front of Parkway's Megan Hughes.
With the victory, the Indians gave Deitsch his first MAC win as a head coach in the gym where he was an assistant for seven years.
"I don't want to make it about me," he said. "It's about the girls and the way they played. ...
"Getting your first MAC win anywhere is going to be awesome," he added. "It's a great feeling, knowing, 'We're ready to do this thing,' especially against a team like this. But coming back here made it a little bit more special. Knew a lot of people in the stands tonight, for sure."
Parkway has a quick turnaround, hosting Antwerp Saturday. Fort Recovery hosts St. Marys on Tuesday in its last game before Christmas.
