Out of control

FORT RECOVERY — Kyla Otting had her team in the game. When she was forced to the bench, the Cardinals did a nosedive.
With New Bremen’s point guard sitting with a pair of fouls, the Fort Recovery Indians closed the first half on a 32-4 run Thursday on the way to a 62-43 victory.
Otting scored seven points in the first 3:30, leading the Cardinals to an early 9-8 advantage. But she picked up her second foul at the 4:20 mark of the opening period and was pulled from the game.
“When she picked up her second foul it changed the outlook of the game pretty quick for us,” said FRHS coach Doug Bihn.
Kelly Nietfeld’s free throws followed Otting’s second foul kicked off a 16-0 run for the Indians. Their in-your-face full-court pressure forced turnover after turnover in the stretch that also included a pair of inside hoops from Kylie Kahlig and five points from Kelsey Fiely.
Fort Recovery scored another 12 straight points in the second quarter, with Kahlig contributing seven, and rolled to a 40-13 lead at halftime.“It’s real difficult, especially when your point guard gets in foul trouble and has to come out,” said New Bremen coach Randy Eckert of the Indians’ pressure defense after watching his team turn the ball over 11 times in the opening quarter and 19 in the first half. “Somebody just has to step up ... We knew they were going to pressure us. That’s their game. You have to just slow down to get the ball across half court. If you speed up, you’re going to have turnovers.
“It’s one of those things where you just have to take your time ... If they’ve got two girls on you, somebody has got to be open. We just weren’t recognizing that. We’ve struggled with pressure this year.”
Kahlig had nine points in the opening quarter for Fort Recovery and scored 18 of her game-high 20 in the opening half. It was her second straight 20-point game after putting up 23 in a victory Saturday over Wapakoneta.
She added 11 rebounds, six of which came on the offensive end, for a double-double.
“When Kylie plays like this, she’s as good as anybody around,” Bihn said.
Kelly Nietfeld joined her fellow senior in double figures with 14 points, doing most of her damage with help from Chelsea Pottkotter in the third quarter.
Pottkotter had four of her game-best five assists in the third quarter, including three to Nietfeld.
“Chelsea is a great passer,” said Bihn. “She does a lot of rebounding, makes the right pass. She played a nice game for us.”
Fort Recovery extended its lead to 29 points in the third quarter before clearing its bench in the fourth as the Cardinals (1-3, 0-1 Midwest Athletic Conference) closed the gap for the final margin.
Otting paced New Bremen with 13 points despite being limited to just 15 minutes because of the foul trouble. Haley Moeller added 10 points and five rebounds.
The victory improved Fort Recovery, which will visit Parkway Thursday, to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the MAC. A year ago, when the Indians finished the regular season 17-3 and advanced to the state finals for the first time since 1991, they dropped their season opener to St. Marys.
“I’m happier than heck,” said Bihn. “Last year we weren’t in this position.
“I’m happy with the kids. I think my seniors are doing a great job. ... The chemistry of this team is getting better and better every day. From where we started to where we’re at we’ve come a long way.
“We’re taking it step by step and I think tonight was a step forward for us.
“We’re a good team. We want to get to be a great team. We’re not there yet.”

Junior varsity
Fort Recovery shut out the Cardinals in the second quarter, rallying to a 46-17 victory.
Tori Lennartz paced the Indians, who were up 21-5 at the half, with 19 points, seven rebounds, five steals and four assists. Kara Jutte added eight points, and Jackie Fullenkamp finished with nine rebounds.
Rachel Parker was the leading scorer for New Bremen with six points.

Middle school
The Indians struggled to score, dropping the seventh grade game 22-12 and the eighth grade game 32-19.
Kendra Siefring was the high scorer for the Fort Recovery eighth graders (0-4), who were blanked in the fourth quarter, as she finished with seven points. Trisha Thien and Hallory Luethold each had four points.
Jocie Kaiser tallied five points as the seventh graders (1-3) lost despite holding a 6-2 halftime lead. Whitney Will added three points.[[In-content Ad]]