Bath wills its way past Kalida in Kewpee Tip-Off Classic

BATH TOWNSHIP - Good basketball teams seem to find a way to win.

In Saturday's championship game of the Kewpee Tip-Off Classic, the Bath girls found a way ... actually, more than one.

Bath struggled shooting from the field, hitting just 31 percent. However, down the stretch the team hit the shots when it counted to pull away for a 58-48 win over Kalida.

Bath's Stephanie Sanders came into the game, battling the flu. But that didn't stop the junior guard as she led all scorers with 17 points, including five 3-pointers.

Another obstacle Bath (2-0) had to get over in Saturday's contest was the downfall of senior forward Rachel Mauk, who went down with a sprained ankle late in the second quarter.

That didn't stop her, though.

Mauk came back strong in the second half and ended the game with 16 points, including three behind the 3-point line.

Longtime Bath coach Greg Mauk said Saturday's performance might not had been the prettiest, but it was one of the gutsiest he has seen.

"This was an embattled team, tonight," coach Mauk said. "Stephanie Sanders was dehydrated ... she was battling the flu. We just wanted to get her in a minute-and-a-half, here and there.

"Then, when Rachel went down, I didn't think she would be able to come back like she did. They showed a great deal of heart tonight. I told them that a good team finds a way to come back when its backs are against the wall."

Emily Turnwald led Kalida (1-1) with 15 points, including two 3-pointers.

In the consolation game, Delphos St. John's (1-1) snuck out with a hard-fought 49-42 victory over Elida (0-2).

Delphos St. John's junior Zefiryn Bryan led all scorers with 21 points. The 5-foot-11 wing player also came away with nine rebounds.

Chelsy Simpson led Elida with 15 points. Teammate Chelsea Mathias added nine points.

In the championship game, Bath connected on just 5-of-23 from the floor in the first quarter. They made just 1-of 14 behind the 3-point line.

"We got a lot of open shots in that first quarter," Mauk said. "We just could not hit them. I think a lot of it was probably due to having some tired legs."

Mauk pointed to the solid play of Turnwald as the key to Kalida's success.

"I thought the Turnwald girl played a great game," he said. "It seemed like every time we got something started, she would come down and hit a 10- to 12- footer. She played a great game."