FR tops Cavs

FORT RECOVERY - A frantic pace created plenty of turnovers and didn't allow either team to get into much of an offensive rhythm. But Coldwater had a much more difficult time finding the basket than the Indians.

Using a pressure defense that limited the visiting Cavaliers to just 23 percent shooting, the Fort Recovery High School girls basketball team improved to 4-0 in the Midwest Athletic Conference with a 44-28 victory.

"I can't say enough about our girls' defensive effort tonight," said FRHS coach Doug Bihn, whose team is one of three still undefeated in the MAC along with Marion Local (4-0) and St. John's (3-0). "We gave up 28 points to a pretty good ball club. We committed a lot of turnovers. They did too. It was an ugly game to watch."

Fort Recovery (8-2) built a 10-point lead midway through the second quarter only to have the Cavaliers pull back to within three at the half. But a combination of tenacious defense and outstanding work on the offensive glass helped the home team rebuild its advantage in the third quarter.

The Indians got going thanks to an offensive rebound when Nicole Pottkotter went to the floor, gathered the ball and managed to get a pass from the crowded paint out to Kendra Brunswick. The junior proceeded to bury a 3-pointer to extend the Tribe's lead to eight points.

After the ball was knocked out of bounds on the next possession, Brunswick tossed an inbound pass to Chelsea Leuthold from the left baseline. Brunswick stepped inbounds behind the 3-point line and Leuthold immediately passed the ball back, leading to another triple and a 29-18 advantage.

"Kendra is a heck of a shooter, we all know that," said Bihn of Brunswick, who was the lone Tribe player in double figures with 13 points. "She doesn't always have the most confidence in herself, but when she does and she's on she's the best shooter around probably."

Fort Recovery finished the quarter with a 15-point lead thanks mostly to second-chance points. It shot just 29 percent during the period, but hoisted 21 field-goal tries.

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers went just 2-of-13 (15 percent) from the field.

"We came out in the third quarter, and I just thought we were flat," said Coldwater coach Nick Fisher. "We gave them six or seven offensive rebounds in about two minutes time. You just can't afford to do that. ... You have to play four quarters, and we just didn't do that tonight."

The Indians completed a 9-0 run by scoring the first two hoops of the fourth quarter, one on a drive by Nicole Pottkotter and the second on a score from Holly Brunswick off of a Pottkotter assist.

Holly Brunswick followed her twin sister with seven points, as did Leuthold.

Pottkotter had a big game underneath as she grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. She also totaled five assists.

"(Pottkotter) boarded well," said Bihn, who also got five rebounds from Nicole Dilworth. "Nicole does so much for us. We look to her for a little bit of everything. She's just a team leader for us."

Coldwater shot less than 20 percent in the first and third quarters, and three Cavaliers finished a combined 0-for-16 from the field.

Kara Uhlenhake was their only player to score more than five points, finishing 6-of-13 from the field for 13 points. She also had five rebounds.

"I think we're pretty well conditioned, (but) obviously it wears on you," said Fisher of the fast-paced game that saw both teams commit more than 20 turnovers. "I think what wears on you more than anything is when you're giving up offensive rebounds and they're making threes and we're not shooting well. You've just got to dig in a little bit tougher and a little bit deeper.

"We didn't help ourselves out, because we didn't shoot the ball very well. We just have to take better care of the ball and knock some shots down."

Veronica Bruns was the No. 2 scorer for Coldwater with five points. Jenaee Muhlenkamp grabbed six rebounds.

Junior varsity

The Indians held Coldwater to just two first-half field goals on the way to a 42-24 victory.

Kylie Kahlig had nine points and four steals for Fort Recovery, which led 20-6 at halftime. Ericka Lennartz added seven points and seven rebounds, and Kelly Nietfeld had eight rebounds, four steals and two blocks.

Megan Muhlenkamp finished with six points, five steals and four rebounds for the Cavaliers. Courtney Wellman had five points.[[In-content Ad]]