Still perfect (12/29/06)

WAPAKONETA, Ohio - The Indians were coming back from a 12-day lay-off.

They were on the road against a good team.

They had trouble shooting and committed twice as many fouls as the host team over the first 31 minutes.

But Fort Recovery did the two things it prides itself on most - defend and rebound - and got one key run as it stayed perfect with a 46-39 win Thursday over the Wapakoneta Redskins.

"I am just tickled to death to go on the road and beat a quality team," said FRHS coach Jeff Roessner, whose team handed Wapakoneta just its second loss of the year. "This wasn't pretty, but the kids are gutsy. What you saw again was heart in this game."

Holly Stein and Tiff Gaerke each turned in double-digit rebounding efforts, the defense limited the Redskins (7-2) to 23 percent shooting and the Tribe found just enough of an offensive spark at the end of the third quarter.

Wapakoneta scored seven straight points to take its first lead of the contest when Devon Golden split a pair of free throws 2:23 into the second half. It pushed to a 30-28 lead late in the period, but the Indians responded with their best offensive flurry of the game.

As was the case for almost everyone, Vicki Roessner struggled from the field for most of the night. But she ignited the run with a 3-pointer off a Gaerke assist with 2:05 left in the third quarter. She then turned defense into offense, picking Christy Steinke's pocket and converting a lay-up on the other end.

Joanna Snyder added a 3-pointer off a Stein assist, and Stein hit a free throw to cap the 9-0 rally and give the Indians a 37-30 lead with eight minutes to play.

"We got a little flat-footed, we got a little tired on defense and they score nine in a row and went up by seven points," said Wapakoneta coach Brad Rex of the stretch after his team had finally taken a lead. "That was a battle for us. But we had chances. We had a lot of chances to get back in the game and tie it up, we just couldn't make anything."

The Redskins got back to within one point as Fort Recovery (8-0) failed to score for the first 4:46 of the fourth quarter, but they never reclaimed the lead. Sara Fortkamp and Gaerke scored back-to-back buckets to push the advantage back to five, and the Tribe made 5-of-6 free throws in the final 40.6 seconds to seal the win.

The Indians' effort at the foul line stood in contrast to that of the home team throughout the game. Wapakoneta went to the line 32 times - compared to just 13 for Fort Recovery - but converted only 16 of those shots. It hit just four of its first 12 tries, and only Lindsey Kentner shot better than 50 percent.

"We didn't shoot the ball anywhere very well, and especially at the foul line," said Rex, whose team went 1-of-11 from the field in the fourth quarter. "We shot 16-of-32. In our first loss this year we were 5-of-15 from the line for 33 percent and tonight we're 50 percent. And it's weird, because some games we've shot 70 percent. ... We've definitely got to put the ball in the basket when you've got easy ones like that.

"We'll play better. These are two good teams, and as (Roessner) and I said afterward, those two teams can't play that bad again. Neither team shot the ball very well. We just didn't play very well, but we're a good team and we'll get better."

Gaerke and Stein went wild on the glass, leading the Indians to a 47-36 advantage. Gaerke had 11 rebounds at the half and finished with 13, and Stein grabbed nine first-half rebounds en route to a game-high 16.

"Without a question, Tiffany and Holly were just phenomenal on the glass," said Roessner. "I think that was the difference in the game."

Stein also had 10 points, trailing Fortkamp's team-high 12.

Roessner added eight points.

Lindsey Kentner hit 9-of-13 free throws for a game-best 13 points to go along with nine rebounds. But the Wapakoneta senior missed 14 of her 16 field-goal tries as no Redskin made more than two shots from the field in the game.

Devon Golden had eight points, and Heidi Schlegel added seven points and 10 boards.

Junior varsity

Rachel Tobe's free throws tied the game with 4.7 seconds remaining, but Katie Greve cashed in a pair for Wapakoneta 4.4 seconds later for a 45-43 victory over the Indians.

Fort Recovery had a 41-39 lead after Chelsea Leuthold's free throws with 44.4 seconds to go, but Emily Lowry evened the score with a pair of her own at the 22.2-second mark. Wapakoneta stole the inbound pass and Kailey Schneider converted a lay-up to re-claim the lead for the Redskins.

Tobe's foul shots tied it, but Greve was fouled just before the buzzer and hit her pair to lift the home team.

Lowry led Wapakoneta with 10 points and seven rebounds, and Jenna Stevely had nine points and two blocks. Schneider finished with seven boards, and Greve had four assists.

Nicole Pottkotter went 11-of-14 from the foul line and racked up 17 points in the Tribe defeat. She also had four steals.

Emily May had 12 points, Leuthold totaled nine points, six rebounds and three assists and Kinsey Wenning grabbed six boards.[[In-content Ad]]