As the mid-season in the 2013-14 girls’ basketball season is upon us, the Versailles Tigers are at the top of the mountain in the league standings as they currently sit 11-2 overall and 4-0 in league play. They are looking to stay sharp this week as there are three teams breathing down their backs with one loss apiece in MAC play. This week the Tigers host the Fort Recovery Indians, who are 6-4 overall and winless in league action.
Since their loss to Lima Bath a few weeks ago, the Tigers have rattled off five straight wins including their two most recent victories over Mechanicsburg and St. Henry. Versailles have been paced offensively by a host of girls who have shared scoring responsibilities game in and game out, but Christa Puthoff has been the main scoring threat with nearly 12 points per game. Stonebraker pointed out Brooke Pothast, Olivia Schlater, and Taylor Winner as her stalwarts on the defensive side of the ball. “I think we need to be a little more consistent on the offensive side,” she explained. “We tend to play two or three quarters with a sense of urgency to score and need to stop taking a quarter off. I feel our rebounding has improved throughout the year and I hope it continues to get better.”
The Fort Recovery Indians enter Thursday’s game on the heels of a four-point loss to Parkway and an eight-point setback to Van Wert in their previous two outings. The Indians are spear-headed offensively by Tori Lennartz, who leads the area in scoring at more than 16 points per game, while also connecting on more than 35% of her shots from behind the three-point arc. She is also one of the tops in the area in rebounds and assists per game at seven and four respectively each time she hits the court. Stonebraker understands the Indians are still without a win in their three conference games, but is quick to acknowledge that her girls cannot take them lightly. “Every league game we play in at this point is important, so Fort Recovery is our concern this week,” she emphasized. “They know how to win game and what concerns me the most is their unpredictability. They can go on offensive runs at any point during a game, so we must contain them. They are also very intense on defense by moving very well and really playing in their opponents face, so we will need to contend with that in order to come away with a victory this week.”
by Robb Hemmelgarn
