‘Feels like a win’

VAN WERT, Ohio — It’s been about growth.

The Indians entered the season knowing where they stood — short on experience, short on numbers.

They lost their first seven games.

But they won five of their last seven in the regular season. And though their first tournament game ended in a loss, their progress was evident.

Fort Recovery, which had lost by 34 just over a month ago to the Coldwater Cavaliers, had a nine-point lead at halftime Wednesday before their Division III sectional opener at Lincolnview slipped away in the second half for a 44-33 season-ending loss.

“We knew what they were going to do. We took time to learn and grow,” said FRHS coach Holly Gann. “We executed the plan. And that’s the biggest thing — we stuck to the plan. We had to play some really unselfish basketball. People had to turn down looks. We knew what we had to do.

“I’m just proud of the girls, how hard they played. … Our girls showed up tonight.”

Coldwater, the No. 7 seed in the sectional/district group, advances to play second-seeded Jefferson in the sectional championship game at 6 p.m. Saturday.

The differences between the Indians a month ago and the Indians now were evident quickly Wednesday.

It took them less than 40 seconds to put up more first-half points against Coldwater (13-9) than they had in the first meeting (one) as Cali Wendel hit a 3-pointer to start a hot-shooting first half. By the 4:30 mark, they had matched their entire scoring output from the 41-7 loss on Jan. 12.

The improvement offensively was about patiently running the offense and getting quality open looks, specifically for Wendel. She bombed away from outside, hitting six of her eight first-half attempts from long distance.

Meanwhile, 11th-seeded Fort Recovery created a flattened-out 2-3 zone defense to bracket 6-foot, 5-inch Cavaliers post player Riley Rismiller and keep the ball out of her hands as much as possible.

The result was a 24-15 halftime lead with Wendel scoring 18 points, Rismiller limited to two in the paint and the Tribe with just three turnovers compared to 10 for Coldwater.

“We controlled the tempo of the game,” Gann said. “We did everything we thought we had to do to win. And we had our chances. …

“The difference between those guys and us is our margin of error is about this big,” she continued, holding her fingers just a sliver apart. “So when we have those mental lapses, we can’t afford it.”

For Fort Recovery, those lapses — though far less frequent than they would have been earlier in the season — were costly in the second half.

The Cavaliers turned their defensive attention to Wendel, keeping the ball out of her hands as much as possible. That led to a nearly seven-minute scoreless stretch for FRHS as it gave up a 14-0 run.

The Indians clawed back to a 30-29 advantage on a kiss off the glass from the elbow by Kennedy Muhlenkamp on the first possession of the fourth quarter, but Coldwater scored the next seven points in a row as it took control.

Despite Fort Recovery’s best efforts, Rismiller finished with a game-high 19 points including an 8-of-10 effort at the foul line. She also had nine rebounds and a pair of blocks.

Becca Wenning added nine points and eight rebounds as the Cavaliers had a 32-22 advantage on the glass, and Mia Knapke chipped in eight points.

“We just adjusted,” said Coldwater coach Amy Meyer. “Riley cannot be the only person we want to get the ball to. It’s easy to put three people on her …

“So we looked to just get ball screens. We tried to get some of our other guards involved, attack the basket, catch the ball ready to shoot.

“Mia Knapke hit some big shots. Becca took it to the hole, she attacked the gaps. It just gave us more movement.”

Wendel led the Indians with 18 points despite being shut out in the second half. The team shot 4-of-22 (18%) from the field in the second half, including 0-for-8 from long distance.

“They made defensive changes,” said Gann. They started face-guarding her, which is not something Cali has seen all year.”

Muhlenkamp added eight points. Maddie Guggenbiller, the lone senior on the team, had three rebounds and an assist.

“As far as I’m concerned, we maximized everybody’s potential tonight,” said Gann. “As a coach, that learning and growing process is huge for us. And today I actually thought we were able to reap the benefits for it — showing up, playing hard, finding joy. Our fans were in it, our bench was in it, the girls on the floor had fun. ...

“I should feel sad, but I’m not,” she added. “I’m really happy for those guys. That loss doesn’t feel the same. It almost feels like a win.”