Border battle

FORT RECOVERY — A game that was a defensive slugfest throughout came down to the final couple of minutes.
That’s when one of the Indians’ senior leaders came up with consecutive key plays to help lift them to victory.
Kelsey Fiely’s back-to-back baskets, the first of which came after an offensive rebound, extended the Fort Recovery High School girls basketball team’s lead as it outscored the Jay County Patriots 9-1 in the last two minutes to pull away for a 44-33 victory.
“It wasn’t a real pretty game,” said FRHS coach Doug Bihn, whose team improved to 6-1. “It was kind of an ugly game, but we did enough stuff late.
“Defensively it was a struggle. Neither team shot very well from the field. But we’ll take it, it’s a win.”
Fort Recovery was clinging to a three-point lead when it missed a shot that caromed off the right side of the rim, where the Patriots seemed to be in position for the rebound. But Fiely came sliding in underneath from the left side, grabbed the board and put it the ball back in off the glass.
“They crash the boards with five,” said JCHS coach Chris Krieg. “If one person does not block out, they’re going to get a rebound. And that’s what happened.”
After a Jay County miss on the other end, Fiely drove to the lane, scored again and was fouled. She converted the free throw following a Patriot timeout, giving the Indians a 40-32 lead in what had been a one-possession game for most of the second half.
Fiely scored seven of her 12 points in the fourth quarter, taking the torch from Tori Lennartz, who notched nine of her game-high 15 in the third period.
“It’s huge. We need that kind of senior leadership, and she’s been a leader for us all season,” said Bihn of Fiely’s effort in the closing minutes. “Kelsey’s really stepped up her game this year. Her attitude has just been superb. And when we need big plays she’s been making them for us.”
Neither team shot the ball well, with the Patriots hitting for 32 percent while Fort Recovery shot 30 percent. But the Indians outscored JCHS at the foul line and forced 23 turnovers in the win.
Jay County had repeated chances to pull even after falling behind by five early in the third quarter. But the Patriots missed on a shot inside with 30 seconds to go in the third and then went 1-of-11 from the field with six turnovers in the fourth.
“We had no two-point field goals,” said Krieg of the final period. “In the fourth quarter, you’ve got to have those baskets. That’s the way the ball bounces sometimes. We’ve just got to finish that stuff around the basket.”
Catherine Dunn shared the game-high of 15 points with Lennartz, but no other JCHS player came close to double figures. Alex Loy and Bre McIntire finished with five points apiece.
Fort Recovery, which has won three in a row over the Patriots, jumped out to a 6-0 lead as JCHS went nearly five minutes without a point to open the game. But Loy hit a 3-pointer late in the period, and Jay County scored the first six points of the second to pull ahead.
A 3-pointer from Fiely off an assist from Chelsea Pottkotter (11 points) a minute later gave the Indians the lead again. They were up 19-18 at halftime and led throughout the second half.
“We’re a young team, and (keeping the lead is important) just for our morale and our confidence,” said Bihn. “We play better with a lead than we do behind. I think most teams are that way.”

Junior varsity
After going scoreless in the second quarter, Jay County dominated the second half and defeated the Indians 34-24.
The Patriots trailed by 10 points at the intermission, but scored the first 14 points of the third quarter. Their pressure defense was key to the comeback as they forced 25 Fort Recovery turnovers and limited the Indians to 2-of-13 (15 percent) from the field in the second half.
Abby Wendel led JCHS to the comeback victory as she scored 11 of her game-high 16 points in the second half. Nine of those came in the fourth quarter as she went 6-of-6 at the foul line.
Gabby Hart and Lyla Muhlenkamp added six points apiece.
Kirsten Jutte and Haley Knapke each scored seven points for the Indians, who led 17-7 at halftime. Kendra Siefring scored five points.

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