Special Weather Statement issued March 19 at 4:28AM EDT by NWS Wilmington OH (details ...)
Gusty winds from 35 to 40 mph this afternoon could blow around unsecured items. Use extra caution when driving, especially if operating a high profile vehicle. Secure outdoor items.
Today 53° Today 53° 32° 32° Tomorrow 41° Tomorrow 41° 21° 21°
Friday, March 1st, 2013

Flyers and Wildcats to battle for district crown

Division IV District at St. Marys

By Gary R. Rasberry
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard

Marion Local's bench celebrates in the final seconds of the Flyers' 61-51 win over Waynesfield-Goshen on Thursday night in Division IV district semifinal action on Murotech Court at St. Marys.

ST. MARYS - It will be an all-Midwest Athletic Conference district final on Saturday as Marion Local and Minster both shrugged off big challenges on Thursday to earn semifinal wins at the Division IV district tournament at Murotech Court in St. Marys.
Marion Local overcame a huge performance by Waynesfield-Goshen's Kaylee Patton to come away with a 61-51 triumph and Minster's duo of Claire Fischer and Bridget Geiger guided the Wildcats to a 42-30 victory over Ada.
Minster and Marion Local will play on Saturday at 7 p.m. for a berth to the Tipp City regional. The last time the two teams faced off in a district final was 2010, when Minster won 54-45 at Lima Senior.
Marion Local 61, Waynesfield-Goshen 51
The game had a déjà vu feel, as the Flyers had to hold off the Tigers 75-70 to win their regular-season matchup in December at Waynesfield.
Patton, Waynesfield's all-time leading scorer for boys or girls, scored 37 points in the first matchup and Thursday's rematch was no different. Patton hit 12-of-29 field goals and 10-of-13 from the free-throw line to score 37 points while adding 12 rebounds.
"That's the second game in a row where we've faced two fantastic players. It's making me grey preparing for them," said Marion Local coach Treva Fortkamp, referring to New Knoxville's Haley Horstman in the sectional final. "You can't take anything away from Patton. She's a nice ballplayer."
Marion Local countered early with Chelsea Winner, who scored nine of the first 10 points for the Flyers.
"Chelsea's a great player. She's the reason why they're at where they're at right now," said Tigers coach Ted Patton. "She's a really nice ballplayer. She does a lot for Marion."
Every time Marion Local began to pull away, the Tigers charged back. After getting down 12-2 early in the first quarter, Waynesfield rallied to take a 21-20 lead midway through the second quarter after a Lidia Turner three-pointer. Marion Local quickly regained the momentum and took a 31-22 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Tigers made several charges to get back into the game and the Flyers didn't help themselves by hitting just 14-of-29 at the free-throw line.
After the win, Fortkamp could offer some humor in regard to the Flyers' free throw woes.
"That's Kurt Goettemoeller's fault," smiled Fortkamp, referring to the Flyers' boys basketball coach. "They shot 48 percent (actually, 45.8 percent from the line in the sectional semifinal win over Fort Recovery on Tuesday) and we shot 48 percent. There's something contagious going on. I don't know what the virus is, but I'm going in with Lysol (today). There's something that's going to be addressed in the next two days. We're definitely shooting free throws."
Waynesfield's last big push came in the final four minutes of the game as the Tigers cut the deficit to 51-47 at 2:50 mark. Cadence Jacobs' three-pointer put the Flyers back in front by seven points and the Tigers were forced to foul to extend the game. However, Megan Kuether was the wrong person to foul, as she hit four straight free throws in the last 33.9 seconds seal the win for the Flyers.
"Some of our kids made young decisions, but then we turn around and a young kid makes a big shot, like Jacobs," said Fortkamp. "Some girls had good games, some had bad games. Others picked it up and we had a good overall team effort."
"We just didn't have enough energy. We spent a lot of energy on those two runs on playing defense to get back into the game," said coach Patton.
Chelsea Winner had 23 points - matching her total from the first matchup against Waynesfield - while Jacobs added 14 with Kuether scoring 10.
Minster 42, Ada 30
Early on, the Bulldogs worked hard to keep the Wildcats from getting the ball inside to Geiger, who missed all four of her field-goal attempts in the first half.
Fortunately for Minster, Fischer was up to the challenge and hit a trio of three-pointers in the first quarter to help Minster take an 11-6 lead after the opening eight minutes of play.
"We went to Plan A, then B, C, D and E," said Minster coach Nann Stechschulte. "That (Fischer hitting the outside shot) was probably F or G. We finally found something that worked."
Both teams struggled offensively as defense ruled the first half. Minster only scored five points in the second quarter, but held Ada to six points and the Wildcats led 16-12 at halftime.
Ada pulled to as close as 18-17 at the 4:45 mark of the third quarter, but with the Bulldogs forced to extend their defense to stop Minster's perimeter attack, that opened up the post for Geiger, who started getting some open looks in the paint.
"We opened it up a little bit," said Stechschulte. "We were able to get Bridget cutting to the hole, and that opened things up. Luckily, Claire was hot because Bridget had nothing (held scoreless in the first half). Then in the second half we were able to open it up."
Minster's 7-2 run to start the fourth quarter finally broke the game open and the Wildcats led 35-22 with 4:40 on the clock.
Fischer finished 4-of-7 from behind the three-point line and scored a game-high 17 points while Geiger scored eight of her 12 points in the fourth quarter.
Taylor Willeke led Ada with 13 points.
"We knew their main scorers were 14 (Willeke) and 32 (Tori Wyss)," said Stechschulte. "(Willeke) is a nice player. We put her on the line too much (13 points), but held Wyss to four, so I'll take it. I was happy defensively."
TICKETS - Marion Local and Minster will be selling tickets for Saturday's district final.
Marion Local's tickets are available from 8-9:30 a.m. on Saturday in the high school office and Minster will sell until 4 p.m. today and from 10-11 a.m. on Saturday in the high school.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard

Marion Local's Cadence Jacobs shoots over a Waynesfield-Goshen defender during the Flyers' 61-51 win on Thursday night.

Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard

Minster's Bridget Geiger scored 12 points to help lead the Wildcats to a 42-30 win over Ada during Thursday's Division IV district semifinals in St. Marys.

Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard

Minster's Claire Fischer buried four three-pointers and scored a game-high 17 points in the Wildcats' 42-30 win over Ada.

Additional online stories on this date
Selective protection for social media
Employees losing their jobs over controversial social media activity is becoming more common in our increasingly connected world.
These cases have brought the old question of constitutionally-protected speech to the foreground and introduced a new question of privacy. [More]
CELINA - Winners of the Celina-Mercer County Chamber of Commerce awards shown brightly Thursday night, despite the dim lighting at the start of the evening. [More]
Subscriber and paid stories on this date
CELINA - Antipoverty organization Sources has a new interim executive director to lead board members in their quest to revitalize the beleaguered agency currently under review by the state.
Community Hospital
COLDWATER - The Mercer Health Board of Governors on Wednesday night heard concerns from 25-year employee Marv Bruns regarding a $20,000 performance bonus awarded to former Mercer County Community Hospital CEO Paula Detterman.
State test shows algae toxins not problem
GRAND LAKE - This year's statewide fish consumption report released Thursday confirms the fish in Grand Lake continue to be safe to eat.
The presence of algae toxins in the lake the last four summers have caused some to question the safety of the lake's fish.
CELINA - Mercer County Commissioners on Thursday joined Celina schools and Jefferson Township in approving a 100 percent, 15-year property tax exemption for Ferguson Enterprises.
WAPAKONETA - Auglaize County Engineer Doug Reinhart for the first time will take out a loan to pay for county bridgework.
Reinhart applied for a ne
The local war on drugs continued Thursday as law enforcement officers rounded up seven people indicted on charges stemming from a Grand Lake Task Force investigation.
A 52-year-old Mercer County man pleaded no contest Wednesday in Celina Municipal Court to charges he exposed himself to others.
Terry M. Shaffer, w
A 50-year-old Minster woman was killed after her SUV left the roadway and struck a tree near state Route 66 on Thursday afternoon.
Pronounced dead at the scene was Ina Smith. She initially was trapped in her 1990 Jeep Cherokee and was extricated by Jaws of Life rescue equipment.
Division II District at Paulding
PAULDING - Celina's girls basketball team hasn't faced much adversity over the last couple of months, but they certainly got a taste of it on Thursday night.
All-Western Buckeye League Girls Basketball
Compiled by Ryan Hines
Lima Bath's girls basketball team won at least a share of the Western Buckeye League championship for the third straight year and the Wildkittens swept the top two league honors for the second straight season.
All-Western Buckeye League Boys Basketball
Compiled by Ryan Hines
Bath's Doug Davis and Elida's Denny Thompson shared the Western Buckeye League's Coach of the Year honor as the Wildcats and Bulldogs shared the league championship, but one individual stood above the rest to earn WBL Player of the Year honors.
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
Coldwater's Justin Post had a short, but successful first day of competition at the Division III State Wrestling Championships on Thursday at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus.
PAULDING - Revenge is a great motivational tool when it comes to athletics, and Celina's girls basketball team is certainly looking for some against Bath on Saturday night.