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Coldwater's Brylee Knapke goes up for a shot against Minster.
MINSTER - For the first time in the history of the Minster and Coldwater girls basketball programs, the teams faced off in the postseason.
When the teams played in Midwest Athletic Conference play in early December, the Wildcats came through with a four-point win.
This time around though, Minster took advantage of early Coldwater turnovers and fueled themselves to a 55-35 victory in the Division VI sectional final at Wildcat Gymnasium.
The Wildcats (18-5) advance to the Wapakoneta District next week, playing the winner of Saturday's game between St. Henry and Lima Central Catholic.
"We haven't seen Coldwater in three months, and we knew that earlier in the season the zone gave us a little trouble," said Minster coach Mike Wiss. "That was a concern coming in. The last time we played, Coldwater was in favor 10-2 after 10 1/2 minutes of play, so it was very important for us to have the type of start we did tonight and build on it."
Minster's Reece Albers (10) battles Coldwater's Mia Knapke for the rebound during Thursday's game in Minster.
The Wildcats erupted in the opening minutes thanks to a free throw from senior Abriana Wuebker and seven straight points from junior Reece Albers, forcing the Cavaliers to call timeout staring at an 8-0 deficit. Coldwater's Mia Knapke picked up a quick free throw and bucket, and from there the two squads traded punches until the end of the quarter with Minster grasping a 12-7 edge.
A jumper from Coldwater freshman Harlow Heyne pulled the visitors to within three points, but another suffocating run by the Wildcats, powered by buckets each from senior Ava Stammen and sophomore Kali Schmiesing, as well as a pair of free throws from Albers, bumped Minster's command to 20-9 forcing another Cavalier timeout. A long ball from Schmiesing gave the home team a 12-point lead, but a three-ball from Heyne and shot underneath by Mia Knapke pulled Coldwater to within seven points at the halftime break, 23-16.
Minster's Kallie Schmiesing goes up for a layup against Coldwater.
"I thought we played even in the second quarter and I told the girls at halftime that we just needed to go out and take care of the ball and try to force Minster into a half court game," said Coldwater coach Amy Meyer. "We ran out of steam though in the second half. Dealing with the pressure Minster brings, it just wears on you mentally and it can force you to make mistakes. I am proud of the girls though. They threw a lot of runs at us, but we continued to answer although we just ran out of steam at the end."
Albers ignited the second half and added to her career night with a mid-court steal and ensuing lay-up and later capped off a 10-0 run with a 3-pointer, which pushed her team in command, 33-16. From that point, the two teams played rather even for the remainder of the period with Minster enjoying a 41-24 cushion heading into the final eight minutes. Albers iced things up midway through the final stanza with a three-pointer, followed by an old-fashioned 3-point play to give Minster the 51-28 advantage.
"I was very proud of how we came out in the third quarter," Wiss said. "I was very pleased with how we were able to set the tempo for the rest of the game. Reece had a very nice game, not just from the outside, but with her penetration and free throws as well. We went in at halftime with four turnovers. When that happens, I really like our chances."
Albers led all scorers with 26 points on the night, and she was joined in double-digits by Kali Schmiesing with 10.
The Cavaliers, who ended their season with a 7-16 mark, were led in the scorebook by Mia Knapke with 10 points.
