Tribe tops Cards

FORT RECOVERY -Nicole Pottkotter and Chelsey Leuthold had gotten off to a bit of a slow start. Although they were averaging a combined 17 points through the Indians first three games, they were both shooting less than 35 percent from the field.

The slump ended Thursday.

Leuthold exploded for 19 first-half points, and Pottkotter added 11, as the Fort Recovery High School girls basketball team played a dominant opening 16 minutes on the way to a 63-49 victory over the New Bremen Cardinals.

"(Leuthold) shot the ball extremely well," said FRHS coach Doug Bihn, whose team improved to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Midwest Athletic Conference. "She shot the ball the way we knew she could. She had been struggling a little bit, but tonight she shot the ball well and she had some confidence.

"(Pottkotter) played well tonight too. Those two are captains for a reason and tonight they played like captains for us.

"They have been starting since their sophomore year ... and it's crucial for us to have those two kids play well. ... As they go our team goes really."

Things couldn't have gone much better for Leuthold in the first half against the Cardinals (1-3, 0-1 MAC). She erased New Bremen's only lead - 2-0 - with a three-point play and proceeded to score seven of the Indians' first 10 points.

The senior's hoop off of an Alyssa Brackman assist late in the first quarter kicked off an 11-0 Tribe run, and she added a pair of second-quarter 3-pointers as Fort Recovery took a 43-17 halftime lead. For the game she shot 8-of-13 (62 percent) from the field for 23 points while adding four rebounds and a steal.

Pottkotter scored the first four points of the second quarter to finish off the big run for the Indians, and added a 3-pointer from a Nicole Dilworth assist. She finished 5-of-9 from the field for 14 points, and also had four assists, four rebounds, three steals and a block.

The Tribe forced 13 turnovers in pushing to the 26-point halftime lead, and forced the issue offensively as well in earning 13 trips to the foul line.

"We played a nice first half," said Bihn.

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"The kids came out focused and real intense and aggressive. This is the way we want to play. We haven't done that for the last three games. We've been trying and working toward it, so hopefully we can keep it up from here.

"We finally shot free throws well for the first time this year. ... That's what we try to do offensively. We try to spread the floor and attack and penetrate.

"We're 1-0 in the MAC and that's a good start."

New Bremen closed the gap in the second half as the Indians went heavily to their bench, but the result of the game was never in doubt. The Cardinals still trailed by 24 with four minutes remaining before closing with a 14-4 run.

Senior Caitlin Chaney led the young Cardinals - they had one freshman in the starting lineup and two others who played 18 or more minutes - with 15 points, two blocks, two steals, one rebound and one assist. Jackie Niekamp, also a senior, added 14 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals.

Bihn said although the second half didn't go as well as he would have liked, the game offered an opportunity to give everyone plenty of court time. All 11 players for the Indians were on the court for at least nine minutes, with 10 scoring at least a point.

"We took the press off ... and we didn't play with the same kind of intensity (in the second half)," said Bihn. "And we had some different combinations in the second half.

"Tonight everybody played a lot of minutes. ... They've got to keep getting better."

Kelly Nietfeld came off the bench to contribute four points and three rebounds. Holly Brunswick also scored four points, and Alyssa Brackman added three assists.

Junior varsity

Fort Recovery won its 30th straight game, slaughtering the Cardinals 62-24.

The Indians (4-0) jumped out to a 20-2 advantage in the opening quarter and shot 17-of-25 (68 percent) in the first half. They were up by 27 at halftime.

Kylie Kahlig led the Tribe, which forced 28 turnovers and had a 23-13 rebounding advantage, as she shot 6-of-7 for 13 points to go along with four steals and three rebounds. Ericka Lennartz added 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

Amber Paul paced New Bremen with eight points and three rebounds.

Middle school

Tori Lennartz led the Tribe seventh grade team to a 37-19 victory over New Bremen. The eighth graders lost, 29-23.

Lennartz scored 12 points as the FRHS seventh graders improved to 2-0. Kara Jutte had six points, and Caley Schoenherr and Ocean Loya each added four points.

Jackie Fullenkamp totaled six points for the eighth grade Indians (0-2). Sierra Pugh and Jessica Vogel scored four points apiece.[[In-content Ad]]