Defense leads way for LCC

LIMA - With the offense taking the second half off, the Lima Central Catholic girls basketball team needed something to get it to the end of its game against Fort Jennings.

Fortunately for the Thunderbirds, their man-to-man and newly-implemented 1-3-1 zone defenses stayed strong.

LCC went up by double digits in the first half and played out the second half for a 53-39 win in a non-league matchup Tuesday at Monsignor Edward C. Herr Gymnasium.

Strong efforts from the starting five - guard Mary Fisher, wings JoJo Krieg, Liz DePalma and Danielle Taflinger and post player Kelly Mulcahy - helped stake the T-Birds to a 37-27 lead at halftime. The starters accounted for 35 of the points.

The second half wasn't as kind for the T-Birds offense, with only 16 points put up. Mulcahy had six and DePalma added five.

LCC's defense, though, allowed just 12 second-half points.

"We went to that 1-3-1 zone and our girls did a good job of getting their hands in the passing lanes and working their butts off, getting in position to deflect some passes," LCC coach Bill Taflinger said. "Fortunately, our defense never let them make a run on us."

The T-Birds' defense forced 17 turnovers, with 14 coming in the first three quarters, leading to 19 points.

"That comes with not being on the same page, not working the way we think we're working together," Fort Jennings coach Matt Myerholtz said. "Some of that's credit to LCC for getting in the lanes defensively. They played aggressively and with some passion. We had a hard time matching that passion."

For the game, Mulcahy had 10 points and eight rebounds and DePalma scored a game-high 13. Krieg and Fisher added 10 points each, with Krieg snaring 12 rebounds. Taflinger had eight points and eight rebounds.

The T-Birds outrebounded Fort Jennings, 36-20.

While post player Julie Baker only scored two points and freshman guard Kelly Ahman was scoreless, each came off the bench to supply LCC with quality minutes.

The win was important in the young season for LCC. After dropping their first game, to Lima Senior on Saturday, the Thunderbirds follow up the Fort Jennings game with matchups against traditional powers Delphos St. John's and Crestview.

"We kind of peeked ahead at that schedule and thought, ‘Man, we've got some tough ones coming up here,'" coach Taflinger said. "It's nice to get a win."

Katie Von Lehmden led Fort Jennings (1-1) with 12 points. She had 10 in the first half, making both of her 3-point attempts early in the first quarter. Kayla Knippen and Stacie Chandler each scored eight points.

"We weren't clicking. It was tough for all of our girls," Myerholtz said. "We were doing the right things, but nothing was working the way it needed to be. So, it frustrated us.

"We continued to scrap and play, but we couldn't get over that hump."

The Musketeers (1-1) led 7-6 midway through the first quarter, but the T-Birds closed the quarter on a 15-7 run. After a Mulcahy score in the post and a Krieg bucket in transition early in the second quarter put the T-Birds up 28-17, LCC's lead didn't dip below double digits.

"We got four wins last year, and we're a better team and we continue to improve," Myerholtz said. "Sometimes, we're going to struggle. (Tuesday night), we struggled."