VAN WERT-It was a back and forth affair on Tuesday night at Van Wert High School as they hosted the Spencerville Bearcats. However, the Cougars used good shooting and strong defense in the third quarter to pick up the 45-31 victory.
“We made shots and we stayed true to our game plan,” said Van Wert head coach Hannah Phlipot. “I think we were pretty evenly matched in the first half, but then we were able to create some turnovers in the third quarter and it created momentum the rest of the way.”
Neither side was able to hold a lead in the opening quarter as the teams traded baskets. Clara Goecke got things started for the visitors with a basket that was answered with a basket from Saylor Wise for the hosts to tie at 2 apiece. Sofi Houg was able to connect on a pair of baskets to lead 6-4, but an Eilan Muniz layup quickly tied the game at 6. The Bearcats were able to lead at the end of the quarter due to a basket by Gabi Croft to lead 10-8.
“We did struggle to make shots tonight,” said Spencerville head coach Greg Ekis. “We had a lot of good looks so we talked in the locker room about focusing and making those good looks count.”
Houg was the difference maker in the second quarter as the hosts were able to put together a lead. Kyra Welch connected on back to back baskets, which included a shot from downtown, to stretch the Cougar lead to 15-10. Erin Schaufelberger made a couple of baskets from the baseline to give Van Wert a 19-16 lead. Houg scored a basket in the final minute to stretch the lead to 21-16.
“You can’t talk enough about our five seniors,” said Phlipot. “They have worked their tails off for four years to make this program what it is right now. Sofi plays hard night in and night out, but so does the rest of this group.”
The third quarter belonged to Van Wert as the lead grew wider. The hosts started the quarter on a 9-2 run that included five points from Welch and four from Schaufelberger that forced a Bearcat timeout. Houg scored four points in the quarter to make it 36-22. A Kirsten Wurst basket cut the lead to 36-24 before a free throw from Maria Bagley made it 37-24.
Both teams struggled from the floor in the final quarter, but the Cougars were able to maintain their lead. A Wise basket and a Jordanne Blythe free throw made it 40-24. A pair of free throws from Heidi Keller cut it to 40-26, but a three pointer from Wise stretched the lead to 43-26 to put the game on ice. Croft later connected from downtown, but it was a little too late as the hosts were able to run out the clock for the victory.
Van Wert improves to 2-1 and will visit Celina on Thursday.
“It’s extremely important to get that win on Thursday,” concluded Phlipot. “We started out with a gauntlet against Bath so we are excited and we will use tonight as motivation to get after Celina on Thursday.”
Spencerville drops to 1-3 and will visit Crestview the same night.
“Anytime you go to Crestivew it’s going to be a competitive game,” said Ekis. “Mark was here tonight and they are well coached with good players so we are going to have to come in tomorrow and prepare well for them on Thursday and be ready to compete.”
Spencerville 10 – 6 – 8 – 7 – 31
Van Wert 8 – 13 – 16 – 8 – 45
Spencerville (31)
Gabi Croft- 10 Clara Goecke-8 Heidi Keller-7 Eilan Muniz-2 Kirsten Wurst-2 Sydney Lemar-2 Nadia Ricker-2
Van Wert (45)
Sofi Houg-17 Erin Schaufelberger-10 Kyra Welch-8 Saylor Wise-7 Jordanne Blythe-3 Maria Bagley-1
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