NEW BREMEN - New Bremen rang out the year with a win.
The Cardinals overcame a slow start and used a big final period to get a 51-45 win over St. Marys in the consolation game of the T&T Auto Holiday Tournament on Thursday night at the Nest.
The Roughriders shot well from long range in the first half. New Bremen did its share in the second, and things were all even at 22 at halftime. The game remained close through the third. In the fourth, however, New Bremen slowly pulled away, relying on good shooting (11-for-17) at the free throw line.
Both teams are now 5-4 on the season.
"In the first quarter, we struggled to take care of the ball," said New Bremen coach Andy Timmerman. "In the second half, we did better defending their drives."
Chloe Homan led the Cards' attack with 17 points and 15 rebounds on the night. Firks had 11 and Mary Rindler scored 10.
New Bremen took the initial lead on a free throw by Firks and a jumper by Homan. St. Marys got a 3-pointer by Ashlie Nuss to even it with two minutes gone by. Reese Rable hit a trey to take the lead a short time later. New Bremen retook the lead by one. Two scores by the Riders, the latter a 3-pointer by Rable, made it 11-7.
New Bremen, which had seven turnovers in the first quarter, began to settle down, and hit several shots to take a 15-13 lead with 4:50 to play. St. Marys kept the long distance battle going with Menker, Reagan Allemeier and Rable all connecting as they took a five-point advantage. After Homan hit from the floor, a three by Allie Bornhorst proved to be the final points of the half with just over a minute to go.
The Cardinals broke the tie to start the third with a three by Mia Hirschfeld and a two by Rindler. After trading scores, St. Marys got scoring by Rable and Menker to lead 32-31 going to the fourth.
Homan got a putback to start the final frame. Menker answered with a three to give the Riders a 35-33 lead, which would be their last.
Firks made one free throw and missed the second. Rindler pulled down the rebound and scored. She was fouled as well, and completed the play with the foul shot.
Rable tied it at 37, but Homan scored on a putback then hit two free throws.
Allemeier was able to hit a couple times from long range down the stretch, but the Roughriders couldn't get anything else. They had to start fouling and New Bremen inflated its cushion to close out the victory.
For St. Marys, Rable had 20 points, with five 3-pointers. Sophia Menker scored 11 and Reagan Allemeier had nine.
"(Homan) just killed us. They made a lot of threes," said St. Marys coach Scott Jordan. "We shot the ball well early, but not in the second half. Then we had to start fouling.
"Our weakness is our (lack of) size. We have to do a better job rebounding."
St. Marys travels to rival Wapakoneta next Thursday night, while New Bremen will visit Delphos St. John's.