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Coldwater's Becca Wenning (left) tries to tie up the ball with Van Buren's Maddie Hudok as Claire Steinke looks on in the Division III sectional opener at the Palace on Thursday.
COLDWATER - Coldwater needed key shots, timely rebounds, and clutch defense to rally in the Division III girls basketball sectional opener, as well as a healthy dose of luck.
The Cavaliers erased a five-point deficit with less than two minutes to go, then benefited from four missed free throws by Van Buren in the final 10 seconds to escape with a 46-44 victory at the Palace on Thursday.
With the win, Coldwater (11-12) advances to the sectional final against Allen East (20-2) on Saturday.
"It was good to see the girls battle through," Coldwater coach Amy Meyer said. "Sometimes that's how you have to win."
Van Buren led 32-25 late in the third quarter before Claire Steinke got a free throw and hit a jump shot along the baseline to reduce the deficit to four heading into the fourth. Mia Knapke swished a 3-pointer 33 seconds into the fourth, and from there it was tight for several minutes.
Becca Wenning set Knapke up for a kickout three with 4:47 remaining that put the Cavaliers ahead 38-37, but freshman Brooklyn Wilkin put back a miss to put Van Buren (8-15) up by one with 4 1/2 minutes to play. Wenning and Steinke missed shots and a Coldwater pass went out of bounds, and Wilkin got two more layups to make it 43-38 with 1:45 left.
Thirteen seconds later, Wenning found Kiersten Keller alone in the left corner, and Keller fired a trey to make it a two-point game. Keller then tied up the ball on the other end, and Wenning kicked the ball out to Madison Wendel, who knocked down a three to put Coldwater ahead 44-43 with 1:01 to go.
Coldwater's Kiersten Keller shoots a 3-pointer over Van Buren's Kayla Fisher.
"I'd say her role has definitely increased through the year," Meyer said of Keller. "She's got good quickness, she plays tough on rebounds and defense. We always tell our girls, 'If you're open, shoot,' and she let it fly in a key moment there."
Keller was called for a foul on the other end trying to intercept a pass, and Maddie Hudok hit her first free throw to tie the game before the second caromed off the front of the rim and Keller grabbed the rebound. Wenning raced down the court and missed a go-ahead layup, but Wendel was in position for the rebound, drew a foul trying for a stick-back, and hit both free throws to make it 46-44 with 43.6 seconds remaining.
Anna Durliat put up a floater that missed, but the Cavaliers couldn't cleanly secure the rebound and it was called a jump ball, with the possession arrow to the Black Knights. Hudok put up a shot that missed, but again beat the Cavaliers to the ball, and Van Buren coach Jaden Tabler quickly called timeout.
Coldwater had dominated on the boards early, pulling down the first five misses and out-rebounding the Black Knights 18-13 in the first half, but Van Buren came up with 17 of 25 rebounds after halftime.
"I thought rebounds were an area we should have dominated," Meyer said. "We just didn't have enough aggressiveness going after the basketball."
The ball went to Wilkin again, and she drew a foul trying for a game-tying layup to go to the free throw line with 10 seconds left. Her first shot hit the back of the iron and bounced out, and the second ricocheted off the side into the corner, where Steinke chased it down for the Cavaliers.
Van Buren only had two fouls in the fourth, and they committed two quick fouls before Wilkin stole a deflected inbounds pass and Keller fell into her for a foul with 1.7 seconds left. It was the seventh of the quarter for the Cavaliers, sending Wilkin back to the line.
Wilkin's first shot bounced out again, and her second fell short of the rim. Wenning was fouled on the inbound with 0.7 seconds to go and missed both free throws, but Wilkin couldn't even heave a desperation three before the buzzer.
Coldwater led most of the first half, but wasn't able to pull away. It took its biggest lead of the game at 11-6 on a Wendel three with 30 seconds to go in the fourth quarter, but Durliat answered with a three on the other end to make it 11-8 at the first break, then got a layup 14 seconds into the second quarter to tie it.
Coldwater's Mia Knapke drives the baseline past Van Buren's Maddie Hudok.
The Black Knights tied it up twice more before halftime, and after Knapke hit a three and Wenning added a free throw to make it 19-15 with a minute left in the half, Lydia Ponn got a bucket to cut the deficit to two and Hudok scored on the first possession of the third to knot the score again.
Van Buren took control with a 7-0 run midway through the third, capped by a 3-pointer by Kayla Fisher with 3:43 left in the quarter that forced Meyer to call timeout. But the Black Knights missed two shots and committed two turnovers before Wenning scored to stop the run.
"I thought at times we were timid, we weren't as aggressive on defense as we should have been," Meyer said. "But it was good to see the girls battle through that."
Steinke had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Wendel added 13 points and Knapke scored 11. Wilkin scored 14 points for Van Buren and Hudok had 11.
