By MARC TOBIAS
mtobias@dailystandard.com
NEW KNOXVILLE — Spencerville was able to deal New Knoxville
its second loss of the season last night when it knocked off
the Rangers 56-28.
New Knoxville struggled to get its offense flowing all night,
and the Rangers were unable to score double digits in any quarter.
“They outplayed us in every aspect of the game, their
guards were quicker than us, their inside people were more skilled
than we were and they finished more shots than we did,”
said New Knoxville coach Dwain Meckstroth.
The Rangers dug themselves a hole every quarter, as Spencerville
scored first in every quarter, and in three quarters the Rangers
gave up 6-0 or larger runs to start the quarter.
“We came out and kind of frustrated them defensively,
our goal tonight was always to have a hand in their face, because
I know New Knoxville has some great shooters, and I know New
Knoxville is used to averaging 50 or 60 points a game,”
said Spencerville coach Jim Baumgartner.
The Bearcats crucial run came in the second quarter when they
went on a 9-1 run to go ahead 18-9.
From that point on the Rangers never got closer than six points.
Spencerville extended its lead in the second half when it outscored
New Knoxville 32-13.
Spencerville’s defense held New Knoxville to nine-of-40
shooting from the field (23 percent).
“We weren’t patient, we didn’t work the ball
along and there were times when we shot the ball too fast,”
Meckstroth said. “We’ve been talking about that
because the first five games we shot the ball fast but the ball
went in the hoop and that makes a big difference. When they
don’t go in the hoop you have to work the ball a little
longer so when you take that next shot you’re more in
the flow and you have a chance to get the rebound. That’s
what they did to us, they broke us down.”
Spencerville won the rebound battle 35-23, and the Bearcats
were tenacious on the offensive glass where they snared 13 rebounds.
Jessica Vorst led the way for Spencerville with 14 points and
14 rebounds.
Rochelle Croft grabbed a lot of attention for the Bearcats as
well.
Croft was the smallest player on the floor at 5-3, yet she grabbed
six rebounds to go with five points.
“She is a go-getter,” Baumgarner said with a laugh.
“She is our utility player and she plays great defense,
she knocks down a shot occasionally and she’s not afraid
to get in there and bang with the big girls. We’re starting
to gel a little bit more, we weren’t gelling at the beginning
of the season.”
Those offense boards helped the Bearcats shooting percentage,
as they knocked down 19-of-45 shots for 42 percent.
Nicole Wright led the way for New Knoxville with nine points
and eight rebounds while Katie Pfenning added seven points and
three boards.
Spencerville was also productive at the foul line as it made
15-of-22 foul shots.
New Knoxville falls to 5-2 on the season while Spencerville
was able to up its record to 4-3.
The Rangers are back in action Saturday when they travel to
Wapakoneta.
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