Flyers rally to beat Indians in overtime

MARIA STEIN - Down nine points in the third quarter, Marion Local worked its way back to tie Fort Recovery and send the game into overtime.

In the extra session, Emily Mescher's stick back off her own miss with 4.2 seconds left kept the Flyers unbeaten with their 51-49 win over the Indians at the Hangar in the Midwest Athletic Conference opener for both teams.

Fort Recovery (2-2, 0-1 MAC), scored the last four points of the second quarter to take a 24-20 lead at the half.

Both teams picked up their scoring in the third quarter. The Indians' Jocelyn Kaiser scored eight of her 18 points during the third and Kara Jutte's hoop-and-harm three-point play put Fort Recovery's lead at 37-28 with 2:20.

That play, along with some words from Flyers coach Treva Fortkamp, sparked Allie Thobe. The senior scored five straight points to cut the margin to 37-33 before Fort Recovery's Kendra Siefring hit free throws to give the Indians a 39-33 lead going into the fourth quarter.

"Me and Allie had a little chat: 'Shoot the ball,' " Fortkamp said. "She has to shoot the ball. She has to penetrate and make plays. She made those two shots and that was huge."

Thobe continued her hot streak in the fourth quarter, scoring four of the Flyers' first five points to get to within one at 39-38 with 7:27 left in regulation. Fort Recovery kept Marion Local at bay until the 4:54 mark when Mescher scored to make it 42-41 Flyers. The teams traded the lead when Kaiser then tied the game at 45-all with four minutes left.

"It was back and forth," Fort Recovery coach Brian Patch said. "They have a player that stepped up (Thobe) and wanted the ball and willed her team to the game."

Thobe put Marion back in front with 2:56 left, only to have Tori Lennartz tie the game at 47-all with 2 1/2 minutes to go.

Both teams missed on their next possessions. The Flyers got the ball back with 1:32 left and held onto it for the final shot. With fewer than 10 seconds left, Thobe missed a driving shot. The Indians rebounded the ball but Lennartz's half-court three-pointer at the buzzer was no good.

Neither team could score in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the extra session before Kaiser drove the lane and scored with 75 seconds remaining. Mescher tied the game with 45 seconds remaining. The Indians tried to set up for a shot but were called for going over-and-back. The Flyers again went for the last shot. Thobe drove the lane and dished to Mescher, who missed her first shot but made the second with 4.2 seconds left.

"It was either Allie taking the shot, or I told her to look for Emily slipping the screen," Fortkamp said of the winning score. "Allie found her. Emily missed but was able to get the stick back."

With two fouls to give, Marion stopped the Indians' scoring attempt with a foul, and Lennartz's last-second three-point try missed at the buzzer.

"Fort Recovery played phenomenally well," Fortkamp said. "Coach Patch had them prepared and we were able to grind it out. I'm proud of my girls. They played with a lot of heart."

"This is by far the best (game) we've played. This is how we want to play," Patch said. "I thought last Saturday (in a loss to Wapakoneta) we weren't prepared to play. Tonight was a different story.

"Defensively, I thought we were pretty solid for the most part. There were a few breakdowns here and there. Unfortunately, we couldn't get a defensive rebound at the end of the game to seal it for us and get a chance to win it."

Thobe scored nine of her 18 points in the fourth quarter for the Flyers. Cadence Jacobs scored 10 of her 16 in the first half. Mescher finished with 10.

Kaiser scored 18 to pace the Indians. Lennartz added 10.

Both teams are off until next Thursday. Marion Local travels to Coldwater and Fort Recovery is at home to face St. John's.