SPENCERVILLE-The Lady Bearcats had their hands full on Thursday night when they hosted the unbeaten Leipsic Vikings. Spencerville fought hard, but the hosts were shutout in the final quarter as the Vikings picked up the 41-31 victory.
“We knew this was the type of game that it was going to be,” said Leipsic head coach Gary Kreinbrink. “We know Spencerville’s record is really deceiving. They were 2-5 and we watched how hard they played on tape.”
Heidi Keller stole the show in the opening quarter as she gave Spencerville the boost they needed to start the game. The Vikings opened the game with a pair of three pointers to grab a 6-0 lead, but Keller responded with a pair of three pointers of her own to tie at six per side.
The Bearcats grabbed the lead with a basket from Kirsten Wurst, but Leipsic countered back with baskets by Leah Kirkendall and Whitney Langhals to lead 10-8. Keller drilled her third triple of the quarter to lead 11-10.
“Heidi did a great job shooting the basketball tonight,” said Spencerville head coach Greg Ekis. “She also did a great job defensively and was very engaged and moving people around.”
Spencerville’s biggest lead of the night came at 14-10 on a three pointer from Keller, but Leipsic responded with three points from Kirkendall and Kyrsten Martinez to lead 16-14.
A free throw from both Wurst and Clara Goecke cut the deficit to two 18-16, and two more from Gabi Croft tied it at 18. Kirkendall gave the visitors a 20-18 lead with a basket, and Whitney connected on a shot to extend the lead to 22-18.
Both teams evened out in the third quarter as Spencerville kept things tight against the unbeaten Vikings. Keller knocked down a triple to tie it at 22, but a basket from Kirkendall gave the lead back to Leipsic at 24-22. Wurst was able to keep the hosts in it with five points in the quarter as they trailed 34-31 into the final stanza.
Leipsic was able to keep the Bearcats off the scoreboard in the final quarter and knocked down some key free throws to seal the victory. Langhals scored five points in the quarter to help Leipsic pick up the 41-31 victory.
Spencerville drops to 2-6 on the season and will host Fort Jennings on Monday. Leipsic improves to 7-0 on the season and will host Vanlue on December 27th.
“Anytime that we have a chance to go into Christmas break with a win, it’s important to do the things we need to win,” concluded Ekis.
Leipsic 10 – 12 -12 -7 – 41
Spencerville 11 – 8 – 12 – 0 – 31
Leipsic (41)
Whitney Langhals-14 Leah Kirkendall-9 Kyrsten Martinez-6 Marissa Hermiller-6 Ava Henry-4 Abby Haselman-2
Spencerville (31)
Heidi Keller-15 Kirsten Wurst-8 Clara Goecke-4 Eilan Muniz-2 Gabi Croft-2
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