Indians show depth vs. Parkway (02/06/04)

ROCKFORD, Ohio — This just in: The Fort Recovery girls basketball team is good. And not just the top few players.

Every member of the 11-person Indian squad scored at least two points and grabbed at least one rebound in a 78-32 destruction of the Parkway Panthers Thursday.

It’s true that Joscie Kaup has been an offensive machine recently, and Holly Stein was on pace to set a school record for 3-pointers. But the contest quickly became a showcase for the entire Tribe roster.

“The one thing we can all do is we can all score,” said Fort Recovery coach Jeff Roessner, who was quick to point out that his team often goes deep to its bench. “We have a lot of depth at every position. I’m pleased with the way they played.”

The Indians (11-6, 5-2 Midwest Athletic Conference) dominated the entire game as they won for the ninth time in 10 tries. They missed their first shot, but hit their next five in a row on the way to a 14-2 lead.

The advantage jumped to 22-4 after one quarter and 41-11 at halftime en route to the big victory.

Kaup scored fewer than 20 points for the first time in five games, but she easily could have put up 30-plus. She scored all of her 12 points in the first quarter, and took to the bench for almost the entire second half as the Tribe boasted the 30-point halftime lead.

Stein was in much the same boat as she finished with a game-high 19 points despite sitting for the final 12 minutes. She missed her first 3-point try, but proceeded to make the next five.

The freshman finished 7-of-8 from the field and 5-of-6 from behind the arc, falling one triple short of tying the single-game school record.

With those two out, the scoring really didn’t slow down as the bench players took over.

Junior Megan Wenning was next, hitting a fourth-quarter 3-pointer to finish with nine points. She also had four rebounds.

Freshman Tiff Gaerke hit for seven points, making five of her six free throw attempts. She added a game-high seven rebounds to lead the Indians to a 43-32 advantage on the glass, and also out three assists.

Senior Olivia Post hit a pair of 3-pointers as the Tribe went 10-of-16 (63 percent) from long distance. She finished with seven points.

“We shot the basketball well,” said Roessner, who also got six points and five boards from starter Jenn Stahl. “I think the key to shooting the ball well is getting open. Secondly, it takes a good pass to the shooter to get those shots off.”

And so the passes came from the point guard duo of sophomore Ciera Rammel and freshman Vicki Roessner.

The pair combined for 11 assists — six by Rammel and five by Roessner — and just one turnover in the contest. Fort Recovery ended the game with only 11 turnovers compared to 26 for the Panthers (2-12, 0-6 MAC).

Roessner said he was even more impressed with the way his floor generals have picked up their play on the defensive end.

“There’s no question (they played well),” he said. “Our point guards especially are young. If you look at how far those two have come it’s absolutely unbelievable.”

Parkway had no chance to stay with the Indians, finishing 12-of-44 from the field for 27 percent and 8-of-22 from the line for 36 percent. That included an 0-for-9 night for guard Amy Harner.

Amanda Jutte and Emily Snyder shared the Panther team high with eight points apiece. Snyder added seven rebounds, and Tiffany Steinbrunner had six points and six boards.

Fort Recovery, which has won four in a row since its loss to then-Division IV No. 3 Marion Local, will host Celina Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Junior varsity

Fort Recovery’s junior varsity girls basketball team took advantage of awful shooting by the Parkway Panthers in the second half to pick up a 40-28 victory Thursday.

The Indians locked down on Parkway, holding the home team to 16 percent from the field and 17 percent (6-of-36) for the game. They took command with a 14-3 advantage in the third quarter for a 26-16 lead which they never relinquished.

Sara Fortkamp paced Fort Recovery with seven points. She also grabbed six rebounds, and had three steals and two assists.

Kelsie Will, Sam Staugler and Julie Link each added six points.

Will pulled down a game-high nine rebounds with coming away with five steals. Staugler finished with eight boards, and Renee Evers dished out four assists.

Megan Smith had 10 points and two steals for Parkway, and Erika Snyder added six points. Elizabeth Smith had nine rebounds, and Laura Art chipped in six.[[In-content Ad]]