Turnovers to transition

FORT RECOVERY — Caitlynn Shroyer dribbled toward the left sideline. Cameron Muhlenkamp and Brooke Bihn swarmed her. She tried to send a pass back to Mackenzie Hocker near the top of the key.

Karlie Niekamp sliced into the passing lane, knocked the ball away and cruised down the court for an easy layup.

That final play of the first half was a microcosm of the game.

Fort Recovery High School’s girls basketball team used a combination of full-court pressure and half-court traps to force 20 first-half turnovers in a 61-22 victory over the Bradford Railroaders.

“That was something we really worked on yesterday in practice, was being able to change things up defensively and being able to really go out and execute and try to get some of those easy baskets,” said FRHS coach Tyler Deitsch, adding that he didn’t feel his team played to its potential in a 37-23 loss Thursday to Minster. “So being able to change things up on defense and adjust and make them also kind of slow things down and think about what they’re doing … was a big emphasis for us …

“Just with our length and how aggressively we played today was really big with that and being able to push the ball down the floor with our tall girls up top, being able to get transition layups is just huge.”

Most of the points for the Indians (7-9) came off of turnovers, with back-to-back Bridget Homan steals leading to Kennedy Muhlenkamp layups for a 10-2 lead less than five minutes into the game. Fort Recovery closed the first quarter with a dozen consecutive points for an 18-point advantage.

The pressure wasn’t as frequent in the second quarter, but the Tribe continued to pull away as a Niekamp post move made it 28-4. Emma Schmitz and Muhlenkamp scored back-to-back hoops on put backs during a 7-0 run, and Niekamp’s final steal and layup made it 41-8 at the break.

“We wanted to start out strong and we started in that full-court press to get things going,” said Niekamp. “We’ve been working on our defense in practice … Not just this game, but overall, our goal is to let our defense become our offense. I think that this game was a great game to show that and get that going.”

The bulk of the second half was played with a running clock after a Muhlenkamp hoop early in the third quarter. The Indians proceeded to score the first 17 points of the second half for a 50-point advantage before Bradford closed the gap a bit after the benches were cleared.

Niekamp shot 10-of-18 (56%) from the field, including hitting her only 3-point attempt, as she single-handedly outscored the Railroaders with her 24 points. The senior had a team-best nine rebounds and an assist to cap a week in which she made official her plans to play at Bluffton University next year.

The 5-foot, 11-inch forward was joined in double figures by the 6-foot Muhlenkamp with 16 points and the 5-foot, 10-inch Homan with 13.

“That’s a huge weapon for us,” said Deitsch of the tall trio, “not only the skill, but just the mindset that they have to be able to attack to score. And really all three of them are scorers by nature … 

"Once they get the ball in their hand, they really know what to do with it.”

Homan added five rebounds and four assists.

The wide margin gave Deitsch the opportunity to go to his bench early after his starting five went the distance against Minster. Sophomore Emma Schmitz scored four points off the bench. Madie Schoenlein saw extended playing time and she and Kendall Ranly each hit a free throw.

“That was awesome for them — for Kendall to come in and hit a free throw, Madie came in and made some big plays,” said Niekamp. “That’s just really good to see and give them a chance to get a look at the court and give us some depth going forward.

It was the fourth consecutive loss for the Railroaders who dropped to 3-13. Megan Wood was their leading scorer with six points.