DELPHOS — As the snow was falling outside the Jefferson Senior High gymnasium Saturday afternoon, the Wildcats from Delphos and Miller City were trying to keep everyone excited inside the gym.

The Lady ’Cats from Delphos came out looking for a win and got that accomplished, conquering the Lady ’Cats from Miller City with a score of 35-27.

Jefferson’s 5-6 freshman, Bridget Culp outleaped Miller City’s 6-0 Ashley Schroeder for the first possession of the game. Jefferson may have been outrebounded but when they were able to get a defensive rebound, they moved the ball down the floor quickly for a breakaway. Miller City was relying on the 3-ball but they were not falling as they shot only 4-for-33 from beyond the arc. Jefferson’s Emily Fought deflected a pass that led Culp to get the steal; her pass to Fought led to a layup. The first period ended with a score of 17-11, Jefferson.

“We came out the first half being aggressive and shooting well. Jenna Miller stepped up and made some outside shots,” stated Jefferson mentor Dave Hoffman.

The second period was back and forth with each possession, although Miller City was unable to put the ball through the basket. Jefferson shot 46% from the field as Miller City only shot 16% from the field. The host Wildcats ended the half with a 28-16 lead as Jefferson dominated the quarter.

Although the turnovers were close, Jefferson was outrebounded 37-26 for the contest. Miller City’s Jessica Schnipke was the leading rebounder overall as she had 12, nine of those on the offensive side.

“It came down to shooting. We like to think that if we allow under 40 points a game, we will win, but it didn’t happen that way as we weren’t shooting well; we missed many open shots,” stated Miller City coach Chris Rump.

The second half was one of change of possession with jump balls, fouls and turnovers. The biggest lead of the game was 10 points and would show as the buzzer sounded at the end of the third period. Miller City never had the lead in the game as the closest they came was within six points.

Jefferson played more of a stall game during the fourth quarter. After Jefferson stole the ball, Culp made a pass while in the air to Emily VanGrootheest as she put the ball in the hoop for two points. The final period was slow as neither team scored many points, allowing the hosts to break their 2-game losing streak.

“We got our confidence that we lacked in the last few games. We executed and didn’t play scared. It was a good team game as a lot of people played well; Emily VanGrootheest did a great job defending the post,” added Hoffman.

Jefferson increased its record to 3-3 as they will host Waynesfield-Goshen on Tuesday. Miller City falls to 1-7 as they play Continental on Saturday.

In JV action, Jefferson pulled out the win as Morgan Fischbach (19 points) drove to the basket before the end of the game to give them the victory 23-22.