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Fort Recovery's Madie Schoenlein (middle) tries to keep the ball away from Arcanum defenders Josie Schwartz and Claire Hein during Saturday's Division VI sectional final at Covington High School.
COVINGTON - Fort Recovery fought its way through 29 turnovers and 23% field goal shooting to give itself a chance at the end.
Fourth-seeded Arcanum got a clutch bucket in the closing seconds and then denied the Indians a decent look at the end to prevail 33-30 in the Division VI sectional at Covington High School Saturday afternoon.
With points hard to come by, Fort Recovery stiffened on defense to stay within striking distance of the Trojans in the second half.
With 2:45 left in the game, Makenna Huelskamp came up with a steal and layup for the Indians to tie the score, 30-30. The Tribe had two possessions to take the lead, but came away empty.
With 22 seconds left to play, Arcanum's Caroline Long scored in the paint off a nice assist by Matty Noe.
Fort Recovery followed with a turnover and then fouled Noe, who made one of two for a 33-30 lead with 15.5 seconds left.
Cameron Muhlenkamp missed a shot for the Indians, but the rebound went out of bounds off the Trojans. Fort Recovery coach Tyler Deitsch called timeout with 5.7 seconds on the clock to set up a three-point play. But the Tribe struggled to get the ball inbounds and never got a shot off.
"That's kind of been the MO of our season," Deitsch said. "We do tend to turn the ball over, and the way that we have to get back is fighting on the defensive side of things. To hold a team like Arcanum to 33 when they have some really good offensive players, is a testament to the grit and the scrappiness of our team."
The first quarter margin stayed within a possession. The Trojans got a pair of treys from Josie Schwartz, but Paisley Hart hit a pair of free throws with six seconds left to give Fort Recovery an 11-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Fort Recovery's Makenna Huelskamp (22) tries to dribble around Arcanum Adalyn Paul.
The Indians pushed their lead to 15-12 on a bucket by Huelskamp two minutes into the second quarter. The Trojans answered with a 7-0 run that included a pair of inside looks by Long.
Muhlenkamp closed the low-scoring second quarter with a free throw to trim Arcanum's halftime lead to 19-16.
The Trojans threatened to blow the game open in the third quarter, as the Indians turned the ball over on four of its first five possessions. A bucket by Long and free throw by Noe gave the Trojans their biggest lead, 25-18.
Madie Schoelein responded with two clutch treys and the Fort Recovery defense clamped down, allowing the Tribe to pull within two, 27-25, heading into the fourth.
"We're not a team that's ever given up on any game, especially coming in as a nine seed against a four seed," Deitsch said. "I think we showed that with our effort and determination and just how hard we play."
Neither team could generate much offense early in the fourth, allowing the Indians to tie the game up late.
Fort Recovery's Cameron Muhlenkamp (left) knocks the ball away from Arcanum's Ella Flatter.
Schoenlein and Muhlenkamp paced the Tribe with nine and eight points respectively.
Long netted 14 points for the Trojans who improve to 14-9 and advance to the district semifinals against West Liberty Salem.
Fort Recovery ends its season at 7-16, but with a lot to look forward to.
"We've got everybody coming back, no seniors. We started the season 0-9 going into Christmas and since then, including today, we're 7-7," Deitsch said. "So a lot of things to build on and a lot of positive things to take from the season."
