Jefferson came up with the tip but didn’t convert with a basket. Allen East was able to put 20 points on the board. Kym Bowsher converted 6-of-8 shots from the field in the period, along with the only free throw the Mustangs had all game. Jefferson struggled to handle the Mustangs’ pressure as they had 14 turnovers in the first two quarters of play. Ashley Watkins (10 points total) worked to get open for six points for the Wildcats in the quarter. Bowsher just got the ball beyond half-court when she put the shot up that bounced in at the buzzer for at 20-9 lead.
“We came out and got a quick lead to be able to dictate how we wanted the game to be played. We worked all week on getting off to a quick start at Delphos,” stated Allen East coach Matt McGraw.
Allen East came out playing sloppier in the second quarter, getting into some foul trouble and struggling a little more with handling the ball. Jefferson was stronger on the offensive side, tallying 12 points and holding the Mustangs to 14. Emily Fought came off the bench to tally six of her nine points in the quarter. The hosts also really cut their turnovers as they went from 10 to four. The rebounding was close at halftime: the Mustangs had 20 to the Wildcats’ 16. The Mustangs took a lead of 34-21 into the locker rooms.
“We got a little sloppy and just finished the game out like we were just holding on for the win. I give Delphos credit as they play hard and make you use your fundamentals for a young team,” noted McGraw.
The Mustangs came out stronger than the Wildcats in the third quarter of the game, outscoring them 11-3. Joy Roberson tallied four points for the Mustangs (ending with 12) in the period and Ashley Conkle was a great asset on the boards as she had six. Taylor VanGrootheest came off the bench for the Wildcats to try and rally her team by causing the Mustangs to turn the ball over. The Mustangs increased their lead to 45-24 by the end of the period even with players in foul trouble.
The Wildcats were only able to shoot 24 percent from the field, the Mustangs 44 percent.
The hosts also canned 10-of-26 from the line (39 percent)
“We were not converting at the foul line and not handling the ball. We were not getting back when they got fast breaks,” stated Jefferson coach Dave Hoffman.
The final period, the Wildcats outscored the Mustangs 15-13 but it was too late for them to get the lead. Emily VanGrootheest tallied six points with her putback shots after getting rebounds and being strong on the post. Bowsher added six more points to her total (game-high 24).
Allen East forced Jefferson into 13 turnovers the second half; the Wildcats made them turn it over 11 times (18 for the night). Jefferson shot 50 percent from the stripe in the second half and completely outrebound the visitors 15-7.
“Kym Bowsher had a nice game. We have been working with her to be a little more of a post player; she has been a guard for us in the past because we have had some other height. She did a real nice job of mixing it up with their guards and posts to help score. I still feel that we had too many turnovers,” added McGraw.
The Wildcats drop to 5-8 (1-5 NWC) and will face off with the Ottoville Big Green on Saturday at Ottoville with a 1 p.m. JV start time.
The Mustangs increase to .500 with a record of 6-6 (4-2 NWC) and will battle the Perry Commodores on Tuesday.
In JV action, the Mustangs prevailed 29-26. They were led in scoring by Kayla Crowe with 12; Emily Fought topped Jefferson with 10.
