DELPHOS – Early in Friday’s girls basketball season opener against Delphos St. John’s, Delphos Jefferson senior standout Lyv Lindeman wasn’t on target with her outside shooting.
However, once the Tiffin University basketball commit started to drive inside the paint, there was no stopping her.
Lindeman ended Friday’s game with 35 points, 13 rebounds, two steals, a block and an assist, as Jefferson held off St. John’s for a hard-fought 53-46 victory at Delphos Jefferson.
Lindeman, a Division III second-team all-state selection last season, was 12 of 15 shooting from the free-throw line Friday night.
“Lyv is Lyv, but she missed a lot of easy shots,” Delphos Jefferson head coach, and Lyv’s mother, Denise Lindeman said. “Also, it was physical in there (inside the paint). Overall, it was a hard-fought, physical game. We’re going to learn, and we’re going to move on from this.”
After three lead changes, St. John’s managed to slip out to a 12-11 lead by the end of the first quarter.
As a team, Jefferson struggled in the first quarter, connecting on just 3 of 15 shots from the field.However, the Wildcats recovered and claimed a 25-22 lead by the halftime break.
By the end of the third quarter, Jefferson had pulled out to a 38-31 advantage.
A key to the big third stanza for Jefferson was the play of 6-foot-3 senior post player Lauren French. French was inserted into the lineup to start the second half and promptly scored six points in the third.
French went on to register 10 points, 13 rebounds and two steals, all in the second half.
“You put a 6-3 post player in there – she will make a presence in the post,” Coach Lindeman said about French. “Again, our shots will fall. We’re not worried about that. We’ll have to worry more about the defensive end.”
For the game, Jefferson made a total of 11 steals. St. John’s committed 18 turnovers. Jefferson turned the ball over 14 times.
Jefferson made St. John’s pay at the free-throw line and on the boards. For the game, the Wildcats were 18 of 26 from the charity stripe (69 percent shooting). Jefferson dominated the boards, 44-20.
“The biggest thing that hurt us was that she (Lindeman) was getting to the basket,” first-year St. John’s coach Ian Finn said. “We gave her a lot of opportunities at the free-throw line. She had a ton of points at the free-throw line.
“The other thing was the offensive glass. They killed us on the boards. They crashed the boards really, really well. They got a lot of second-chance opportunities.”
St. John’s had three players score in double figures. Emma Will scored 16 points and dished out four assists. Teammates Abby Kerner and Faith Cross each scored 14 points. Cross had four 3-pointers, while Kerner had three successful shots behind the 3-point line.
For the game, Jefferson shot 32 percent from the field. St. John’s connected on 38 percent of its field goal attempts.
“I think there were some first-game jitters,” Lindeman said. “Overall, it comes down to where you have to play defense. Obviously, our shots were not falling tonight. … Their shots were falling. I’m not sure how many threes they had. … I think we had just one three.
“When those shots fall, it makes the game a little bit easier. But we have to work on our rotation a little bit more on defense. Overall, it was a hard-fought win. I’ll take a win any day of the week. It was a good first game. I’m glad we ended up with the ‘W.’ We will get better.”
Delphos Jefferson 53, Delphos St. John’s 46
Delphos St. John’s
Aubrey Fairchild 2, Emma Will 16, Abby Kerner 14, Faith Cross 14. Totals: 15-8-46
Delphos Jefferson
Madison Burris 1, Lyv Lindeman 35, Kyrstin Moore 1, Claire Brinkman 6, Lauren French 10. Totals – 17-18-53.
3-pointers made: Delphos St. John’s–Emma Will 1, Abby Kerner 3, Faith Cross 4; Delphos Jefferson–Lyv Lindeman 1
Records: Delphos Jefferson 1-0; Delphos St. John’s 0-1
