Wildcats stay perfect in MAC

MINSTER - Minster's Alli Fischer was a non-factor for much of the night during Thursday's game with New Bremen.

The 5-foot-4 sophomore was the biggest factor when the game was up for grabs in the fourth quarter.

After the Cardinals overcame a 10-point deficit to tie the game at 28-all early in the fourth, Fischer drained two three-pointers and the Wildcats held on for a 43-33 victory to maintain their perfect record in MAC play.

"Good teams find ways to win," Minster coach Nan Stechschulte said. "As long as we keep working hard and battling, that's all I can ask for."

Thursday was an all-out battle between two of the top programs in the MAC - a game that undoubtably left a handful of players on both sides with floor burns, scrapes and bruises.

The Cardinals (11-4, 3-2 MAC) slowly clawed out of a 21-11 first-half hole. Paige Jones hit a triple with two minutes to go in the half and Debbie Paul added a hoop to make the score 21-16.

Paul continued to get buckets in the third quarter, scoring five of the team's seven points, to draw the deficit to 26-23 by the end of the third quarter.

Amanda Brown's corner trey finally evened the game at 28-all with roughly 51/2 minutes remaining. It didn't stay that way for long.

Fischer swished a wide-open three-pointer shortly after Brown's. She hit her second one 50 seconds later, and Minster sealed its fate at the foul line, connecting on 7-of-9 in the final period.

"In games like this, players make plays," New Bremen coach Chris Burden said. "(Fischer) came in and she made the difference."

Fischer had only registered one field goal attempt through the first three quarters. Coming off the bench in crunch time, Fischer gave sixth-ranked Minster (12-2, 6-0 MAC) the spark it needed to defeat rival New Bremen in front of a rowdy crowd at Wildcat Gymnasium.

"Alli came in and hit those two big threes to give us a lift," said Stechschulte, who added praise for the entire bench unit. "I'm proud of the way the bench came in (and) performed."

The Cardinals stayed close despite tallying 21 turnovers and struggling at the free throw line.

"When you're playing Minster, you know it's going to be a physical game. Every possession counts," Burden said. "I thought early on we played kind of tight. There was a lot of adrenaline and it kind of got us into trouble a couple different times with our turnovers. But we battled back. Most teams against Minster would have crumbled, but we hung in there and showed some mental toughness. I'm proud of our girls.

"It comes down to the little things like making shots, making your free throws and taking care of the basketball, and those are three areas that we didn't get it done in," he added.

Jones led New Bremen with 11 points and Paul added nine. Jones and Paul tied for the team-high in rebounds with six apiece. The Cardinals return to action on Saturday at St. Marys.

Six different Minster players scored six points or more, led by LeAnn Huelsman and Rosie Westerbeck, who scored eight each. Lindsey Roetgerman and Courtney Prenger both netted seven points. Prenger had a game-high seven rebounds.

Minster and Fort Recovery are the last two unbeaten teams in the MAC. Those teams will match up on Jan. 28 in Minster. For now, though, Stechschulte is just glad to have gotten past a tough New Bremen team.

"We didn't take them lightly," Stechschulte admitted. "I said 'This is one of the most dangerous teams coming in here because they have something to prove,' and they proved it. They played a great game."

Minster returns to action Saturday to face the ninth-ranked team in Division IV in the Ottoville Big Green. The Wildcats' game against eighth-ranked Fort Loramie that was postponed Tuesday will take place this Monday.