KALIDA-For three quarters on Tuesday night the Spencerville Lady Bearcats had the Kalida Wildcats right where they wanted them on the scoreboard. In the final quarter the Wildcats turned it loose as they rallied back to pick up the 42-36 over the visitors.
“This game was a little bit different for us tonight,” said Kalida head coach Adam Huber. “This was the first time in two games that we were losing and they made their first shot to go up 3-0 and it’s no secret that we struggle with zones,”
The first quarter was a battle of defenses as points were hard to come by early. Gabi Croft knocked down a three pointer to give them a early 3-0 advantage. A basket by Kirsten Wurst gave them a 5-1 lead before a basket by Meredith Bockrath and Camille Hovest tied the game at five per side.
Spencerville closed the quarter on five straight points on three points and two points from Croft to lead 10-5.
Kalida tied the game up at 10 quickly in the second quarter on a three pointer from Andrea Burgei and a basket by Liv Recker but the rest of the quarter belonged to the visitors.
Spencerville became the aggressors as they were able to get to the free throw line. The Bearcats went seven from the lime and a basket by Eilan Muniz gave them a 19-10 advantage.
Kalida came back in the third as they went on a 8-0 scoring run that featured a three pointer from Burgei to cut the lead to 19-18. Croft ended the run with a free throw and a basket by Wurst extended the lead to 22-18.
Both teams traded points for most of the quarter but a late bucket by Muniz gave the visitors a 26-22.
Outside shots started to fall in the final quarter as the momentum shifted towards the hosts. A pair of three pointers by Recker gave the hosts a 28-26 advantage which was a lead that didn’t change the rest of the contest. A basket by Wurst cut the lead to 31-29 but a basket by Avrie Unverferth extended the lead to 33-29.
A three pointer by Croft got the visitors within 35-32 but the Wildcats found success from the free throw line to slowly put the game out of reach. A three pointer by Clara Goecke got the visitors within 38-36. A pair of free throws from Ady Miller and another pair from Bockrath put the game on ice for the hosts.
“This is why we play the schedule that we play,” said Huber. “We have been in these situations before earlier in the year and we didn’t finish to get over the hump and every time you play good non league teams it prepares you for tournament games.”
Kalida improves to 12-5 on the season and will travel to Pandora Gilboa on Saturday. Spencerville drops to 8-10 on the campaign and are scheduled to return to NWC action on Thursday when they visit Bluffton.
Spencerville 10 – 9 – 7 – 10 – 36
Kalida 5 – 5 – 12 – 20 – 42
Spencerville (36)
Gabi Croft (11) Eilan Muniz (8) Kirsten Wurst (8) Clara Goecke (7) Heidi Keller (2)
Kalida (42)
Liv Recker (13) Meredith Bockrath (9) Andrea Burgei (6) Camille Hovest (6) Ady Miller (4) Avrie Unverferth (2) Brooke Erhart (2)
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