SPENCERVILLE-Both teams looked to get back into the win column on Tuesday night at Spencerville High School as the Bearcats hosted Van Wert. Spencerville overcame a third quarter run to defeat Van Wert 42-41.
“I thought both teams played really hard and I think they were a very physical team and they caused us to do some things that we didn’t want to do,” said Spencerville head coach Greg Ekis. “We hit some big shots in the fourth quarter that allowed us to put a lead together and get the victory,” Ekis continued.
Spencerville and Van Wert struggled from the floor in the first quarter as both teams faced full court press. Van Wert got their first lead of the game on a basket by Erin Schaufelberger, but the lead was short lived as a free throw by Gabi Croft gave the Bearcats a 3-2 lead. Carlee Young hit a shot from downtown to tie the game at nine, but a three pointer from Lilyan Goecke gave the hosts a 12-9 lead. Young scored five points for the Cougars in the period.
It was a physical second quarter and the points were hard to come by for both teams. An Emilee Phillips basket cut the lead to 12-11, but the hosts responded with a 9-3 run to end the quarter. Heidi Keller had a basket to extend the lead to 14-11, but the Cougars drew within 18-14 on a three pointer by Kyra Welch. Emme Prine put the final touches of the quarter on a basket to lead 21-14 at halftime.
“We did a great job of cutting some of their presence inside and a great job of defensive rebounding in the first half,” Ekis said.
It was a big third quarter by the visitors as they used their speed and size to climb their way back. Sofia Houg scored four straight points for the visitors to get within 21-18, and her last points of the quarter gave them a 22-21 advantage. Young had a basket to extend the lead to 29-23 that forced a Spencerville timeout, but the hosts responded with four points from Wurst and a pair of free throws to tie the game at 29 apiece.
In the fourth quarter, the Bearcats turned to their experience as Wurst and Keller buried back-to-back three pointers to lead 35-29 and forced a Van Wert timeout. The Cougars fought back with a basket and three pointer from Kyra Welch to get within 40-38 with two minutes remaining in the game. Keller sank a pair of free throws with 53 seconds left to extend the lead to 42-38. Houg hit a three pointer with three seconds left, but time expired and the Bearcats took home a 42-41 victory.
Spencerville improves to 4-1 on the season and will be back on Thursday when they host the Crestview Knights. Van Wert drops to 1-3 and will travel to Celina the same night.
“We are always excited to play these type of games at home and Mark does a great job at Crestview as he is a great friend of mine,” Ekis said. “We are looking forward to playing them as we look forward to playing great teams,” Ekis concluded.
Van Wert 9 – 5 – 15 – 12 – 41
Spencerville 12 – 9 – 8 – 13 – 42
Van Wert 41
Kyra Welch (15) Sofi Houg (12) Carlee Young (9) Emilee Phillips (2) Erin Schaufelberger (2) Maria Bagley (1)
Spencerville 42
Kirsten Wurst (13) Gabi Croft (10) Heidi Keller (9) Emme Prine (5) Lilyan Goecke (3) Claire Hoback (2)
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