Wendels, Tribe trounce St. Henry

FORT RECOVERY — Kierra Wendel did her damage before halftime, helping stake the Indians to another commanding lead at the break.

Hope Wendel did most of hers after halftime as the Indians put the Redskins away.

Kierra Wendel scored a baker’s dozen in the first half, and Hope Wendel had all but four of her game-high 15 points in the final 16 minutes while the Fort Recovery High School girls basketball team had another stout defensive performance in a 52-26 Midwest Athletic Conference victory over the St. Henry Redskins on Thursday at Fort Site Fieldhouse.

“We got St. Henry to play really fast,” said FRHS coach Holly Gann, whose team moves to 12-4 (5-2 MAC) on the year. “Because they were playing really fast they didn’t have an opportunity to run much offense because they were constantly in a scramble.

“When you get to play the scramble game, I’d like to think that we scramble better than they do, and we knew that.”

The Wendels, who are unrelated, combined for the Tribe’s first six points as it raced out to a 14-2 lead over the Redskins (2-11, 0-6 MAC). Kierra Wendel assisted on Hope Wendel’s basket to start the game, then she scored four straight points. There was 2:25 left in the first period before St. Henry finally got on the board with a Claire Wendel basket.

Fort Recovery, which led 16-5 at the end of the opening quarter and 29-11 at halftime, forced St. Henry into starting the first three quarters with back-to-back turnovers.

Kierra Wendel made shots from almost everywhere inside the 3-point line. She drove to the hoop for a layup as her first basket, and also put back a missed 3-pointer. The senior also made jumpers — her trademark shot — from the free-throw line, both baselines and from a step inside the arc on the right wing, too.

“Kierra just looks to attack her pull-ups,” Gann said. “She was able to find some gaps in that zone and her shot was beautiful. She works so hard. She works hard on the defensive end and she’s definitely an offensive threat for us. She just doesn’t stop.

“That’s the one thing you love about Kierra is obviously her basketball skills, but she just has the determination and drive in everything that she does. I can ask her to do anything. She’s going to give you 110%, and even on bad days it’s still 100%.”

Hope Wendel began the third quarter with consecutive baskets. She scored on an inbound play under the hoop, then drained a jumper from the left side of the bucket on a Brenna Homan assist. Paige Fortkamp followed with a 3-pointer to put the Indians on top 37-11.

Wendel ended the third quarter with five consecutive points and the Indians led 43-15 heading to the fourth.

“Hope is one of the smartest basketball players I have,” Gann said of the senior who scored 11 points in the second half. “She knows not only where to be, but how things are going to play out. She is very forward-thinking. Her basketball knowledge is the highest, and she knows how to use her body.

“What she always is really good at is getting the positioning.”

Fortkamp joined the Wendels in double figures with 10 points, and Alli Vaughn was close behind with nine points.

Ontrop led the Redskins, who finished with almost as many turnovers (24) as they had points, with a dozen points. No other player had more than a half dozen.



Junior varsity

Fort Recovery kept St. Henry off the scoreboard in the first quarter in getting a 10-7 victory in two periods of play.

The Indians’ 3-0 margin at the end of the first proved the difference as both teams scored seven points in the second.

Kensey Gaerke scored five points for the Indians. Mara Pearson ended with three points and Sage Leuthold chipped in two points.