Tribe tops Jay in OT

Ericka Lennartz missed a chance to win the game for the Indians at the end of regulation. With the game on her shoulders late in overtime, she earned redemption.
Lennartz hit a pair of free throws to extend Fort Recovery’s lead to four points — two possessions — with just 13.5 seconds left in the extra session as the Tribe fought off the host Jay County Patriots for a 54-49 victory Saturday.
“It was a whale of a ball game,” said FRHS coach Doug Bihn, whose team stayed unbeaten at 6-0. “My hat’s off to Jay County. They played hard. They didn’t quit; my kids didn’t quit either. Everybody got their money’s worth tonight.”
Jay County (8-3) rallied from a nine-point, second-half deficit to force overtime, but fell behind early in the extra session and could not recover. The loss stopped a three-game winning streak for the Patriots (8-3).
“It was a great ball game; great crowds on both ends,” said JCHS coach Chris Krieg. “Hats off to Fort Recovery. They did what they had to do to win.”
Jay County pulled to within two points when Alex Loy buried a 3-pointer in the final minute of overtime, and the Patriots fouled Lennartz with 13.5 seconds left. The Tribe senior, who had missed a put-back opportunity at the buzzer in regulation, made both foul shots for a 53-49 advantage.
Catherine Dunn missed a 3-pointer on the other end, and Lennartz split a pair of free throws with less than two seconds to go for the final margin.
“It felt really good because I redeemed myself,” said Lennartz, who finished with five points and was also second on the team with five rebounds. “They’re one of the toughest teams we’re going to play this year. ... They’re definitely the toughest team that we’ve seen (so far).”
JCHS came storming back in the final 11 minutes of regulation, but couldn’t keep the momentum going in overtime. Kelly Nietfeld turned in a 3-point play 50 seconds into the extra session, giving the Indians the lead for good.
“It’s tough,” said Krieg. “(The Nietfeld basket) was Mariah (Hornaday’s) fifth foul, and that hurts. ... That hurt a lot. That was a big play.”
Katie Aker split a pair of free throws for the Patriots to pull them back to within two, but then Kelsey Fiely and Kylie Kahlig came up big for Fort Recovery.
Fiely grabbed an offensive rebound over Kassi Hemmelgarn and Dunn and kicked the ball out to Kahlig, who cashed in a 3-pointer for her only field goal of the game and a 48-43 advantage.
Kahlig scored just one point in regulation as the Patriots focused on taking her away. But the senior, who had scored at least 20 points in each of the last three games, was there when Fort Recovery needed her in overtime.
“Kylie is a great player,” said Bihn. “The neat thing about Kylie is she’s never afraid to shoot the ball. I’ve never seen the kid turn down a good look. ... It doesn’t matter what the situation is, if she’s got a good look it’s going to go up.”
Jay County fought back after trailing 31-22 in the third quarter thanks in large part to guards Hemmelgarn, a senior, and Dunn, a freshman.
Dunn scored six of her nine points in the second half and hit a pair of free throws that pulled the Patriots to within 36-35 with 1:54 to play. Hemmelgarn nailed three 3-pointers in the final 10 minutes, all on assists from Dunn, and hit the game-tying free throws with 16.6 seconds remaining.
Hemmelgarn tallied all of her game-high 15 points in the second half and overtime, and Dunn and Maria Murphy each added nine for JCHS.
“Our girls never, never gave up,” said Krieg of the comeback. “They did an excellent job. ...
“Catherine is just such a gutsy, hard-nose player. I’m really proud of (Hemmelgarn and Dunn).
“I’m proud of all of the girls. We didn’t give up, not at all.”
Janelle Schwieterman, who hit three 3-pointers, and Nietfeld each scored 13 points to lead Fort Recovery. Olivia Schwieterman, who fouled out late in regulation, added 12 points.
Nietfeld also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
After Jay County had a 17-14 lead as it mostly set the tone for the first 14 minutes, the Indians scored the final six points of the opening half. They added the first six of the third quarter and trailed for just 25 seconds in the second half and overtime.
“We tell the kids all the time, we’ve got to just play and play and play and at some point we’re going to make a run,” said Bihn. “You never know when it’s going to happen ... but when it does we can put some points up in a hurry.”

Junior varsity
The battle of undefeated teams went down to the wire with Bre McIntire lifting Jay County to a 17-16 victory over the Indians.
Fort Recovery (5-6) trailed the entire way before Cassidy Rammel gave the Tribe (5-1) its first lead — 16-15 — on a jumper with two minutes left. McIntire responded with the game-winning free throws with 6.8 seconds left, and Fort Recovery turned the ball over as time expired.
Katlin Petro scored seven points to lead the Patriots (11-0), who were up 7-0 after the opening quarter. McIntire followed with six points for the Patriots, and Katie Aker added four.
Jackie Fullenkamp’s six points paced the Indians. Lexi Schmitz and Rammel each scored four points.[[In-content Ad]]