Fort Loramie wins defensive battle
FORT LORAMIE — The Fort Loramie Redskins girls basketball team picked up a non-conference win over the neighboring Minster with a 36-26 win on Saturday.
The focus for the Wildcats on the front court duo of senior forwards Kenzie Hoelscher and Dana Rose while the Redskins (8- 0) were well aware of the backcourt duo for the Wildcats (2-1) in senior guards Ivy Wolf and Janae Hoying.
Both programs normally have no issue scoring the ball but that wasn’t the case on Saturday as missed and contested shots, some attributed to shot selection and some attributed to tight defense, were plentiful in a low scoring affair. The Wildcats jumped out to a 6-2 lead with back-to-back buckets from Wolf and a nice post move from senior forward Brynn Oldiges, who was inserted into the starting lineup with an injury limiting senior forward Dana Prenger.
After that, the Redskins made a switch on defense as they put the lengthy Hoelscher onto Wolf and she held Wolf to just two points for the rest of the game.
A jumper from Redskins senior Jadyn Puthoff on an inbounds play tied it at 8-8 after a basket inside from Ella Mescher.
Early on, the Wildcats limited the Redskins transition game by putting a player on the base line after a made basket or dead ball while the Redskins used sets with Hoelscher and Rose as primary ball handlers to cope with the pressure of Wolf and Hoying on the guards.
In the second quarter, Rose took over as the Redskins built a 21-10 lead heading into the locker room as the Redskins outscored the Wildcats 13-2.
“Our posts don’t have the quickness or athleticism that theirs do,” said Wildcats coach Mike Wiss. “That sometimes creates a tough matchup. That being said, I thought we did a pretty darn good job. I’m pleased with the fact we held (Hoelscher and Rose) down.”
Rose finished with a game high 15 points while adding five rebounds, Hoeslcher added six.
“In the middle first, late second quarter, there were some shots that were ill advised,” added Wiss. “The pressure and quickness of the game sometimes gets to you.”
It was a fast-paced third quarter as both teams scored a flurry of transition baskets early on.
The Wildcats scored the first four points, a Wolf behind the back pass to Hoying in transition for the layup followed by a Wolf steal and layup, before Caitlyn Gasson hit a jumper and Hoelscher hit a layup plus a foul in transition to answer.
A Puthoff 3-pointer stretched the Redskins lead to 28-16 before Hoying grabbed a defensive rebound and went coast to coast for the basket and the foul.
Hoying, who finished with a team high 12 points, hit the free throw to make it 28-19 with just over two minutes left in the third. The Wildcats would miss a shot at the buzzer to keep that the score heading into the fourth quarter. Hoying, who scored all of her points in the second half, scored all seven of the Wildcats fourth quarter points but it wasn’t enough as four Redskins players scored a basket each to keep the Wildcats at arm’s length.