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Schlegel leads 'Skins to win |
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Friday, 12 January 2007 |
 Wapakoneta senior Julie Wintzer (44) tries to get open for an inbound pass. (Staff photo/ William Laney)
By PHIL McLEAN
Staff Writer
A freshman post player helped spark the Wapakoneta Redskins to a win over a Western Buckeye League foe and to maintain their perfect league record in varsity girls basketball action.
Six-foot forward Heidi Schlegel scored 11 of her 18 points in the second half, including 9 points in a pivotal third quarter to lead the Redskins to a 50-41 victory over the Van Wert Cougars.
Schlegel helped the Redskins build on their 25-20 half-time lead, expanding it to 38-29 at the end for the third quarter.
“Heidi did a nice job,” Wapakoneta coach Brad Rex said, “but the rest of the people did a nice job of finding her.
Schlegel helped take some of the pressure off senior guard Lindsey Kentner, the team’s leading scorer this season and Wapakoneta’s all-time leading scorer.
“We had a game plan to stop her (Kentner),” Van Wert coach Roland Alvarez said, “but Wapakoneta has so many other weapons to use.”
The Cougars limited Kentner to 2 points in the third quarter, but Kentner ended the game with 11 points. Sophomore guard Christy Steinke scored 9 points in the game, and sophomore forward Devon Golden hit for 8 points.
The Redskins’ fifth victory in league play marked the first time in Rex’s three-year coaching stint that his squad will finish above the .500 mark in league play, and only the fourth time in the past 20 years that a Redskin team won at least five league games. Rex’s team improved to 10-2 on the season.
The Redskins won at least five games under Bob Elsass during the 1987-88 season, under Mark Koch during the 1996-97 season and under Cortney Rogers during the 2003-04 season.
The Redskins built a 17-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, a surprise to Rex.
“They had four starters return from last year’s team,” Rex said. “Van Wert plays very hard, and they get after it.”
The Cougars finished in a three-way tie for first place in the WBL last season. This season the Cougars are 0-5 in the league and 1-8 overall.
Kentner opened the scoring for the Redskins with a basket seconds into the contest, but Van Wert came back down the court to answer with a layup by sophomore Jessica McClellan, who scored a team high 16 points.
“Jessica does some good things for us,” Alvarez said. “She is our ball handler.”
The tie at two with 6:42 remaining in the period was as close as the Cougars would come for the rest of the game, although they did cut the lead to 3 points a couple of times during the game.
After McClellan’s basket, the Redskins reeled off six unanswered points to take an 8-2 advantage and then outscored Van Wert 9-1 during the final 4 minutes of the period to go up 17-6.
The Cougars cut the the Redskin lead to four, 3 minutes into the second period, but Wapakoneta found the range from beyond the 3-point line as Christy Steinke and Kentner drained treys giving Wapakoneta a 5-point lead heading into the locker room at half.
Alvarez said part of Van Wert’s problem Thursday was an inability to put the ball in the basket.
“That’s it right there,” Alvarez said. “We work on shooting every day in practice.” But when the shots don’t fall it can be frustrating.
Wapakoneta held a 50-35 lead with little more than 1 minute left in the game as Rex cleared the bench. Van Wert scored the final six points of the game.
“We have an all around better team this year,” Rex said. “The talent on the team, including the bench players have taken the pressure off Kentner and have given the Redskins a more balanced attack.”
The Wapakoneta junior varsity extended its record to 8-4 and recorded its fourth straight win with a 32-25 victory over the Van Wert reserves. Kailey Schneider paced the Redskins with 8 points.
Wapakoneta will be back in action Tuesday, when the Redskins travel to Bellefontaine. The JV game gets underway at 6 p.m.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 15 January 2007 )
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