Varied Tribe attack too much for Stars (01/07/04)

FORT RECOVERY — Eleven different players scored for Fort Recovery, with eight of them putting up at least five points. Seven of those eight also grabbed at least four rebounds.

It was more than the South Adams Starfires could handle.

The Indians dominated the entire contest Tuesday, crushing South Adams for a 74-35 victory.

“I’d watched them play Jay County, and they were better than us,” said Starfire coach Randy Minch. “I wasn’t sure they were 30 points better than us, but they were better than us.”

Minch said it would have taken an outstanding game from his girls to stay with the Indians, but it just didn’t happen Tuesday night.

Fort Recovery shot 33 more times than the Starfires, thanks to its rebounding effort and a hugely positive turnover ratio.

Krystal Rammel led the team with nine rebounds as it took a 47-36 advantage on the glass. Joscie Kaup had six assists compaired to just two turnovers, with Fort Recovery ending the game with a season-low eight give-aways.

South Adams shot just 12-of-42 (29 percent) from the field when it was able to hold on to the ball.

“The first three games we averaged 30 (turnovers),” said Minch. “We’ve tapered off and done real well, but we’ve played teams that haven’t gotten out on us.”

For their part, the Indians ran the floor after nearly every rebound and turnover. Their constant up-and-down game resulted in several huge scoring runs.

After trailing 3-0 as Kindle Inniger opened the game for the Starfires with a 3-pointer, Fort Recovery took the lead for good. It scored the next 15 straight points as South Adams failed to get on the board again until Brittany McCollum hit a 3-pointer with 18 seconds to go in the period.

The Tribe pushed the lead to 16 points at halftime before going on another mammoth run.

Fort Recovery (5-5) owned the final six minutes of the third quarter, and scored the first nine points of the fourth. In all they went on a 31-5 run, to push their lead to 66-28 with five minutes to play.

Freshman Holly Stein paced the Tribe’s varied scoring attack with 11 points. Jenn Stahl joined her in double figures with 10 points.

Freshmen Vicki Roessner and Tiff Gaerke each scored nine points, Megan Wenning had eight points, Kaup scored seven and Krystal Rammel added five.

Alyssa Tobe and Brenda Rindler each finished with two points and one rebound. Rindler had an assist, and Tobe notched one block.

“There were some kids that deserved scome playing time — they practice hard — and they got that tonight,” said Fort Recovery coach Jeff Roessner. “They didn’t disappoint when they got in the there.”

Roessner said he likes the fact that all his players have the confidence to keep shooting the ball.

“We shoot the ball a lot,” he said. “We had 71 shots against LCC (Lima Central Catholic) and a lot against Jay County. We don’t have anybody whose afraid to shoot.”

Trailing Rammel in the reboudning column for the Indians were Kaup with seven and Stahl with six. Roessner and Wenning each had five rebounds, and Stein and Gaerke added four apiece.

Julie Muhlenkamp grabbed a game-best 10 rebounds for the Starfires while sharing the team lead with nine points. McCollum also scored nine points as she went 3-for-3 from 3-point range.

Minch said his young team was improving before hitting the snag against the Indians. They will try to get back on track when they visit Southern Wells Friday at 6 p.m.

Fort Recovery has been able to put together the winning streak it had hoped for. Having won three straight games, the Indians are now at .500 with a visit Midwest Athletic Conference rival St. Henry (1-6) looming Thursday at 6 p.m.

“Now we’re 5-5,” said Roessner. “To me it’s a huge game. I really hope we come out determined, and not fearful. We’re as good or better than them, and now we just have to go out on the court and prove it.”

Five of the Tribe’s next seven games are against MAC opponents.

Junior varsity

Fort Recovery owned the junior varsity contest Tuesday as it rolled to a 46-23 victory over South Adams.

The Indians (7-3) dominated the first half as they built a 30-6 halftime lead. They took advantage of 35 turnovers in the contest by the Starfires.

Kelsie Will paced Fort Recovery with 13 points and six rebounds. Sam Staugler scored nine points.

Jennalee Post had 12 rebounds and five steals, and Sara Fortkamp had seven rebounds and three steals.

Kayla Coblentz and Allie Liechty led South Adams with eight points apiece. Katie Nichols scored six points,a nd Brooke Fox had five rebounds.[[In-content Ad]]