One particular play was a snapshot of last Saturday’s entire game at Findlay Liberty-Benton High School.
With under three minutes left in the fourth quarter, Fort Loramie junior guard Ariel Heitkamp, at five-and-a-half feet tall, snaked her way between two six-foot defenders, gained far better rebounding position than the two opposing post players, and alertly banked in a shot after a Redskins miss.
The Fort Loramie girls outshot, outhustled, and thoroughly outplayed Division II powerhouse Liberty-Benton to the tune of 50-33.
It was music to the ears of head coach Carla Siegel whose team struggled through a sloppy opener on Nov, 24 after a limited number of practices.
Junior Victoria Mescher and senior Jaden Rose turned in performances that ranked among their very best as Redskins, scoring 19 and 12 points, respectively.
Short two of their first five girls — Avery Brandewie and Carissa Meyer, who were nursing ankle injuries — the Redskins rallied to prove once again that the “team,” as a whole, is better than the sum of its individual parts.
Liberty-Benton had drubbed its first two foes, 116-48, and featured 6-foot-1 senior Lauren Gerken, who was averaging 30.5 points per game in the first week of the new season and 23.5 ppg for her career.
But Findlay’s gaudy numbers didn’t phase Fort Loramie. Harrassing defense contained Gerken, who scored only 16 and was 6 for 20 from the floor. The much taller Eagles, who at one point had three six-footers on the floor, were outrebounded by the Redskins. Fort Loramie turned over the ball only six times and forced 14 miscues from the Eagles.
Fort Loramie, which was 2-1 heading into Tuesday night’s league contest versus Botkins, carried out with perfection coach Siegel’s plan. The execution was extraordinary.
When the opposition started out running a somewhat porous zone defense, Fort Loramie pushed the ball down the floor, passed quickly with precision in the halfcourt, and consistently attacked the basket, drawing foul after foul.
The NBA’s Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers should have made the jaunt to Findlay to pick up some pointers — like how to convert “one-pointers,” as in free-throws.
The Fort Loramie girls swished their initial 13, made 17 of their first 18, and finished 22-of-25 at the stripe. Mescher, alone, drained 11-of-13.
About seven minutes apart in the second and third quarters, Jaden Rose drilled two three-pointers over the Eagles zone to build the halftime lead to eight and then extend it to double digits after the break.
And when Liberty-Benton attempted to go man-to-man, the Redskins set solid screens, cut sharply, and delivered the ball to teammates on time.
A brief five-point flurry by the Eagles Addi Crow and Gerken sliced the spread to 26-22 before the Redskins spurted to a 21-7 run. The widest margin was 18 points. Fort Loramie led 22-14 at intermission.
Summer Hoying and Alex Rose each contributed six points for FL. Skyler Albers had four. Heitkamp tallied a field goal. Morgan Pleiman added a free throw.
From the beginning, the inspired Redskins were “in a zone,” performing with exceptional focus, skill and energy.
The contest drew a good crowd, including many Findlay faithful who attended post-game fundraisers in the cafeteria before the start of a boys freshman game.
One grandfather of a member of the boys squad said he arrived early to get “a shredded chicken sandwich with lots of mustard.” And, as the knowledgeable fan noted, “I also wanted take in the second half of the ‘unbeaten, high flyin’ Eagles and perennial powerhouse D-IV Fort Loramie.’”
The spectator added, “Our team became a little frustrated,” pointing out that the visiting team “made the long trip and played with a purpose.”
He added, “And the Benton girls seemed to maybe lose focus and ‘zone out’ down the stretch.”
And, by contrast, from start to finish, the Fort Loramie girls were “zoned in.”
Saturday’s coverage on ScoresBroadcast.com attracted nearly 3,000 listeners.
