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Celina's Brooke Baucher (25) collides with New Bremen's Michaela Firks during Saturday's girls basketball game at the Fieldhouse. Celina picked up a 42-34 win over the Cardinals.
CELINA - In a game without a lot of offensive spurts, Celina was able to put together a fourth-quarter run that proved to be the difference.
For 28 minutes New Bremen and Celina were never separated by more than two possessions one way or the other. With the score tied 27-27 midway through the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs scored seven unanswered points in less than 50 seconds.
New Bremen never recovered, and Celina held on for a 42-34 victory Saturday afternoon at the Fieldhouse.
With 4:20 left in the game, Celina freshman Brinley Korte hit a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 30-27 lead. After a New Bremen turnover in the back court, Korte added a layup followed by a Celina steal that resulted in two made free throws by Brooke Baucher for a 34-27 advantage with 3:43 on the clock.
Celina's Brinley Korte shoots against New Bremen.
"That was huge because haven't had a whole lot of those this year," Celina coach Bret Baucher said of the offensive burst. "That's the growth we've been looking for, and to the girls' credit, they'd been plugging away, made a shot, caused a turnover and then converted it. That's how you win close games. You've got to make plays down the stretch."
"A couple of miscues defensively and a couple of big turnovers. That's what turned it around for them," New Bremen coach Andy Timmerman said. "And give them credit, they hit some bigs shots down the stretch to keep the lead."
New Bremen (8-9) took a quick 5-0 lead in the first 65 seconds of the game. But the Cardinals would go the next nine minutes without a field goal.
Celina (7-11) did not fare much better on the offensive end of the floor. The Bulldogs were 2-of-13 from the field in the first quarter and trailed 7-5 after eight minutes.
Rachel Rammel quickly changed that, hitting a 3-pointer to open the second quarter for Celina's first lead of the game, 8-7.
New Bremen snatched the lead back, 14-12, on a pair of free throws by Michaela Firks, but Kenlee Holstad hit a bucket in the final minute of the half to tie the scored at the break.
Marina Nelson gave the lead back to New Bremen with a trey to open the second half, but Celina answered with 3-pointers from Rammel and Baucher and allowed New Bremen just one more field goal in the third quarter to lead 24-19 heading into the fourth.
"I was disappointed with our effort in the first half defensively even tough we held them to 14," coach Baucher said. "We really challenged them at halftime to pick up the pressure and play defense the way we intend to, and I am extremely happy with their efforts in the second half. They cranked it up and made them feel uncomfortable."
The Cardinals opened the fourth quarter with an 8-3 run, thanks to 3-pointes from Nelson and Abbie Burden, and tied the score at 27.
From there, Korte triggered the Bulldog run, with Rammel and Holstad icing the game with four free throws n the final minute. The Bulldogs with 9-of-10 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.
"That a big improvement because we were shooting about 55 percent on the year," coach Baucher said. "The girls stepped up and knocked them down when it counted."
Celina's Jacci Felver (11) is defended by New Bremen's Mia Hirschfeld during Saturday's game.
The Cardinals, playing without leading scorer and rebounder Chloe Homan, were led by Nelson and Firks with 15 and 13 points respectively.
"Chloe is a big force for us and does a lot of things. We missed her, but I thought our girls competed well and played hard," Timmerman said. "We missed a lot of opportunities on the offensive end, whether it was three-foot shots, layups or free throws. We were right there, We just needed to capitalize on the offensive rebounds that we got. In the end they made a couple more plays than we did."
Rammel finished with 15 points to pace the Bulldogs, who will be back in action Thursday hosting state-ranked Ottawa-Glandorf in Western Buckeye League action.
New Bremen welcomes Jackson Center to the Nest on Tuesday and travels to New Knoxville on Thursday.
