KALIDA — Perhaps the simplest reason for Kalida’s 57-49 girls hardwood victory over Jefferson Saturday afternoon at the “Wildcat Den” in Kalida was depth.

LadyCats coach Karl Lammers went 13 deep to the Lady Jeffcats’ seven. “We wore down. Right now, we just don’t have much depth, especially without Kristin Klausing (out for the year after knee surgery),” Jefferson mentor Dave Hoffman explained. “We’re hoping that as the season goes on, we’ll be able to depend on some of our JV players; right now, they’re just not ready.” Perhaps the visitors (2-1) forced Lammers to go deeper than he wanted due to early foul trouble in the opening period and throughout the game (Kalida was whistled for 21 fouls vs. 15 for the Jeffcats). Though Jefferson committed nine of its 21 miscues in the first (17 for the hosts) as Kalida scored the first seven points by the 5-minute mark, Jefferson still managed to lead 10-7 late before Megan Miller rolled in a 15-footer with a second showing on the board. Kalida, which canned 21-of-53 for the contest (5-of-11 downtown) for 39.6%, couldn’t take advantage of 10 offensive rebounds, shooting 4-of-18 in the opener. Jefferson was 4-of-5. “We feel we can go 12 deep if we have to but don’t want to. It’s good to know we can, though,” Lammers noted. “We’ve brought up a couple of JV players that have really helped us so far. It might be hard to mold a team like that early and we’re still figuring what these girls can do.” The tempo picked up quite a bit in period 2 as Jefferson started to break the LadyCats’ pressure and get to the free-throw line. They hit 10-of-11 at the line (14-of-22 overall for 63.6% vs. 10-of-18 for the home team for 55.6%). Meantime, the hosts got their offense going, getting seven markers each out of Kara Kaufman and Gina Verhoff (12 each for the game). The home team got the lead for good after a free toss and a bomb from Miller early. Two throws from sophomore Jenna Miller (14 markers, 3 treys) with 8.5 ticks to go got the visitors within 28-27 but a triple by Verhoff that rolled in just before the horn put the hosts up 31-27. The hosts couldn’t quite apply the finishing hold on their young foe in the third but neither could the Jeffcats put together a big run. Kalida’s margin reached 14 late before sophomore Stephanie Blockberger (12 counters, 8 caroms, 4 steals) hit a basket for a 49-37 deficit. Kalida was 8-of-14 from the field. Jefferson would not go away but every time they looked to gather momentum, Kalida had the reply. The closest the guests got was six twice. “We see improvement every time out in some area or another. For example, we struggled early against their pressure but it became less effective and we attacked the basket when we broke it,” Hoffman added. “We are starting to get a shooter’s mentality, especially from the perimeter. We have some girls that can be very good shooters; it’s just a matter of confidence.” The visitors connected on 15-of-41 fielders (5-of-13 trios) for 36.6%. Junior Ashley Watkins scored 11 points). They tracked down 27 off the backboards (9 offensive) as Watkins and sophomore Emily VanGrootheest added four each. They welcome in Ada for a 6 p.m. JV start Thursday. “Offensively, we talk a lot about shooting with confidence,” Lammers ended. “We also talk about attacking their 2-3 zone, finding the seams. We aren’t the most skilled team but we keep working at it. That’s the idea this early; keep getting better in every phase of the game.” Kalida grabbed 35 caroms (17 offensive) as Stacy Reindel had eight and Megan Heitmeyer six. They host Fort Jennings at 1 p.m. Saturday. In reserve play, Kalida (4-1) dominated the action, routing Delphos (1-2) 48-17. Chelsea Verhoff topped the LadyCats with 12. Shelbi Brown countered with five.