Minster stays perfect in
MAC by dominating in all facets of game
By ROBB HEMMELGARN
Standard Correspondent
MINSTER — Last night at the Minster Middle School Gymnasium,
the home-standing Minster Lady Wildcats used a unique blend
of stifling defense, outstanding rebounding, and a deep bench,
to blast the visiting New Knoxville Rangers by a final of 52-25.
The victory pushes their Midwest Athletic Conference record
to 4-0 and a fine 9-2 overall mark.
“With the emotional week we have had and not having school
today, I was a little concerned on how we would play tonight,”
remarked Minster head coach Nann Stechschulte. “I was
very pleased with the way we came out aggressive from the start.
We got in a little foul trouble early, but our bench came through
in a big way, and we came out with a win.”
The Wildcats opened the action with the game’s first six
points before New Knoxville’s Whitney Meckstroth hit a
free throw to cut the Wildcat lead to 6-1. The home team then
went on another 6-0 run to extend its advantage to 12-1 with
3:45 left in the quarter. Senior Robyn Hoying chipped in four
of her team’s six points in the midst of that stretch.
New Knoxville picked up five of the next six points to cut their
deficit to seven points, but a three-pointer by Minster’s
Kristen Shenk gave the home team a 10-point lead, 16-6. The
Rangers closed the quarter on a 6-2 run, closing the gap to
18-12 at the conclusion of the first stanza.
“We made a nice little comeback during the first quarter,”
said Rangers head coach, Dwain Meckstroth, “But we just
played flat for much of the game and couldn’t hit anything
from the floor. Against a good team like Minster you can’t
make those kinds of mistakes.”
The second quarter was all Orange and Black, as the home team
hit six shots from the charity stripe and picked up another
three field goals, to extend their lead to 30-16 at the end
of the first half.
The Rangers hit a pair of two-pointers in the quarter, and as
it turned out, they would be the only short shots they converted
all evening. For the half, Hoying led the Wildcats with all
of her game-high 12 points, including a perfect six-for-six
slate from the free-throw line.
The third stanza began with a three-point goal from New Knoxville’s
Kara Katterheinrich. The 5-3 sophomore hit another long ball
with 2:32 left in the quarter, but that was all of the scoring
for the visitors, as Minster outscored the Rangers 12-6 in the
period to extend their advantage to 42-22 at the end of the
eight minutes.
Through three quarters of action, the Wildcats were paced by
eight different scorers, including strong performances from
senior Sunni Olding and juniors Amy Kremer and Lindsay Quinter
off the bench.
“I was very pleased with how deep we were able to go on
the bench,” said Stechschulte. “The girls did a
really good job of keeping their composure and hitting some
big shots for us. They didn’t lose their intensity all
evening and that’s very big for us.”
The final quarter was once again dominated by the Wildcats.
Quinter began the scoring attack with a quick bucket, giving
Minster a 22-point lead, 44-22. Kremer and Shenk added another
pair of shots over the next couple of minutes to push ahead,
49-22.
Ranger junior Carrie Gabel hit a free throw, cutting the Minster
lead to 26 points. However, her point was answered with a lay
in by Olding and a free toss from Kremer, giving Minster their
biggest lead of the evening, 52-23.
The Rangers closed the game’s scoring with another two
points from the free-throw line. For the final 2:30, neither
team was able to light up the scoreboard, and Minster secured
its perfect record at home with the 52-25 win.
The Wildcats return to action on Thursday at St. Henry to face
the Redskins, while New Knoxville (7-5) will play host the same
evening to the Versailles Tigers.
The junior varsity contest also went in the favor of the Wildcats,
toppling the Rangers by a final of 36-22.
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