WAPAKONETA — Wapakoneta matched Minster on the size front.
But the Redskins had trouble navigating through Minster’s pressure defense.
Minster forced 23 Wapakoneta turnovers to help the Wildcats post a 40-33 victory over Wapakoneta in a nonconference girls basketball game on Tuesday night.
Minster used a full-court and half-court man to cause the damage. It often prevented the Redskins from getting what they wanted from their offense. Point guard Lexi Jacobs led the Redskins with 15 points and four rebounds.
“Lexi is a seasoned, four-year senior point guard and you’re not going to get her into too many situations where she panics,” Minster coach Mike Wiss said. “But that can’t stop us from continuing pressure on everyone. You put the pressure on her and hopefully, hopefully after four quarters of up-and-down, in-your-face, it pays off a little bit on somebody else. Our pressure is important to us.’’
It was a showdown among four 6-footers. Wapakoneta has 6-foot-1 Sarah Pothast and 6-foot Makenzie Wilson while Minster has 6-2 Courtney Prenger and 6-2 Taylor Kogge.
Prenger led Minster with 13 points, six rebounds and one block. Kogge had five points, with three key free throws in the final seconds. Demaris Wolf had two points and eight rebounds for Minster.
Minster’s Jessica Falk gave the Wildcats the lead for good with a 3-pointer with one second left in the third, which put the Wildcats up 29-26. Paige Thobe’s 5-footer made it 31-26 Minster and capped a 7-0 Minster run.
“This was a tournament game kind of feel, by how the game was being called and how much of a grind-it-out affair it was on offense,” Wiss said.
Minster (18-3, 7-1 Midwest Athletic Conference) travels to Fort Recovery on Thursday for a conference game. Wapakoneta is 13-8.
Fort Loramie 49, Marion Local 24
Fort Loramie capitalized on 28 turnovers by Marion Local in a nonconference win on Tuesday.
Fort Loramie built a big lead early. The Redskins led 12-4 at the end of the first quarter and 24-12 at halftime. They outscored the Flyers 10-6 in the third and 15-6 in the fourth.
Kenzie Hoelscher led Fort Loramie with 12 points and had six rebounds and three assists. Abby Holthaus led the team with five steals and had six points.
Fort Loramie shot 21 for 53 (39 percent) from the floor while Marion Local shot 8 for 22 (36 percent).
Fort Loramie, which won the Shelby County Athletic League title, finished with a 17-5 overall record and 11-1 in league play. The Redskins, which are the top seed in the Sidney Div. IV sectional, will open tournament play on Saturday against Ansonia at Sidney High School.
New Bremen 47, Botkins 32
New Bremen overcame a slow start and beat Botkins in a nonconference game on Tuesday.
The Trojans led 13-9 at the end of the first quarter, but New Bremen used an 18-3 scoring advantage in the second quarter to build a 27-16 halftime lead. Botkins ate into the lead a bit with an 11-10 scoring advantage in the third quarter, but New Bremen closed out the win with a 10-5 scoring edge in the fourth.
Kelly Naylor led the Cardinals with 15 points while Macy Puthoff scored 10. New Bremen made 14 field goals and 13-of-21 free-throw attempts.
Paige Lane led Botkins with 15 points. The Trojans made 13 field goals and 1-of-13 free-throw attempts.
Botkins finishes with a 13-9 overall. The Trojans, which finished fourth in the SCAL, open tournament play on Saturday against Mechanicsburg at Sidney.
New Bremen (16-5, 4-4 MAC) hosts Delphos St. John’s on Friday.
Other scores: Ridgemont 63, Fairlawn 47
Boys basketball
Houston 55, Bradford 52 OT
After scoring eight points in the first half, Houston used a big effort in the second half to storm back and beat Bradford in a nonconference game.
The Railroaders led 15-7 at the end of the first quarter and used a 7-1 scoring advantage in the second to take a 22-8 halftime lead.
The Wildcats came alive on offense in the third quarter. Caleb Sluss scored eight points to help lead a 19-9 scoring advantage, which pulled Houston within 31-27.
Houston outscored Bradford 21-17 in the third to force overtime with a 48-48 tie. Howie Ludwig made 4-of-4 free-throw attempts in overtime to help Houston outscore the Railroaders 7-4 for the win.
“We really struggled in the first half to score,” Houston coach Mark Platfoot said. “I have to give my players all the credit for battling back and finding out a way to get a win when we were struggling on offense.”
Sluss led Houston with 14 points, while Ludwig scored 12 and Brennan Arnold scored 11. The Wildcats made 18 field goals and 14-of-27 free-throw attempts.
Andy Branson led the Railroaders with 18 points while Dialaquan Millhouse scored 16.
Houston (4-17, 1-10 Shelby County Athletic League) travels to Jackson Center on Friday.
