Indians ready for tournament test (03/01/06)

Jeff Roessner finally has his group where it wants to be.

After two consecutive seasons which ended with close losses to elite squads in sectional championship games, the Fort Recovery girls basketball team broke through Saturday. With a 46-38 win over the sixth-ranked New Knoxville Rangers, the Indians earned their first sectional championship since 2002.

And even more importantly, they earned themselves an opportunity to make the tournament run they believe they’re capable of.

New Knoxville, after all, won the Midwest Athletic Conference, and was rated as the top team in the area by the Dayton Daily News. But both of the Ranger losses came against the Indians. And the second came in large part because of a combined 7-for-7 effort — 5-of-5 from 3-point range — which resulted in Abby Niekamp and Ciera Rammel scoring 13 and eight points respectively.

“If we can get some points out of our five, six, seven, eight kid, then we’re an awfully dangerous team,” said FRHS coach Jeff Roessner. We got very good defensive effort out of a couple of kids off the bench (against New Knoxville), and that was a big plus for us. But I think the points were the most important thing that happened ...”

The Tribe has shown how dangerous it is against other as well. It dropped a close game to Berlin Hiland, ranked fourth in Division IV at 18-2, and handed No. 8 Fort Loramie one of its two losses this year.

The Indians’ first quest beyond the sectional since 2002 will begin Thursday night with a battle against the MAC rival New Bremen Cardinals (7-15) in the semifinal round at the Division IV Coldwater District.

Fort Recovery (17-5) dominated New Bremen in the first meeting between the two squads, jumping out to a 19-3 lead in a 62-49 victory. The Marion Local Flyers (16-5) also will be heavily favored against Upper Scioto Valley in the second of the two district semifinal contests Thursday, but neither Roessner nor Marion Local coach Treva Fortkamp wanted any part of looking forward to a potential district title game.

Roessner wants his squad focused on the New Bremen, and he said defense will continue to be the most important part of its success.

“The key for us almost every game is how well we can pressure the guards and create havoc on top,” he said. “That won’t be any different.”

Liz Schnelle provided the biggest defensive challenge as she led the Cardinals in scoring (13.2 points per game - fifth MAC) and assists (47) this season and had 16 points in the loss to Fort Recovery. Sara Schmiesing, second on the team at 8.4 points per game, scored 18 against the Indians the first time around.

But they present no outside threat. No one on the team has made more than five 3-pointers this year, and their team total of 16 is less than half of Fort Recovery junior Holly Stein’s season total.

New Bremen coach Dave McFeely said the most important thing for his squad will be to simply stay in the game early on.

“Recovery is an awful good basketball team,” he said. “And they just came out and jumped on us. We just can’t fall behind like that. We did that in a lot of games this year.

“We have to be able to protect the basketball. We can’t have foolish turnovers that lead to baskets.”

The Cardinals earned their regional berth with wins over Waynesfield-Goshen, 42-35, and Lima Perry, 66-37. But, McFeely said, the tournament his team went through was not quite the meat-grinder Fort Recovery and Marion Local had to endure.

“The sectional is not the MAC sectional,” said McFeely. “There’s a big difference there. Both (Waynesfield-Goshen and Lima Perry) tied for the co-championship of their league. We had a little bit more depth and had a little more physical play. Playing in the MAC helped get us ready for this.”

If the favorites make it through, Fort Recovery would have to deal with the team which has been their biggest nemesis over the past three seasons in Saturday’s district final.

Marion Local knocked the Indians out of the state tournament in 2004, and has been the one team Fort Recovery has not been able to overcome. The Tribe got big revenge wins over Fort Loramie, Wapakoneta and Minster this year, but still fell five points short to the Flyers.

They are led by senior Maria Moeller, who finished first in the MAC in assists (5.7 per game), steals (4.3 per game) and foul-shooting (77 percent). She was second in scoring at 17 points per game.

She teams with fellow senior Jenna Barhorst, who returned from injury to average 11.5 points on 56 percent shooting in 13 games.

Marion Local is no stranger to the tournament. It has been to the district final in each of the previous three years, winning a state title in 2003 and going all the way to the regional championship game last season.

“They’re a quality team,” said Fortkamp of Fort Recovery. “We’d definitely have to rebound well.

“I think (our tournament experience) is important. These girls have been through it. They know the preparation it takes to win.

“There’s no second chances in the postseason. If you don’t show up to play, you’re going home.”[[In-content Ad]]