Fort Jennings’ Maggie Pothast shoots against Delphos St. John’s Abby Kerner during Saturday’s game at Robert A. Arnzen Gymnasium in Delphos.
DELPHOS – It took all four quarters Saturday morning for Delphos St. John’s to secure its third win of the season.
Fort Jennings led after the first three quarters before the Blue Jays dialed up their three-point shooting to surpass the Musketeers 55-51 in non-conference action.
The Musketeers’ defense started strong and had four contribute points in the first quarter to set the early tone for the visitors. Autumn Calvelage knocked down a pair of threes, Khloe Browning hit one as well, while Maggie Pothast got going inside. Pothast led all Musketeers in scoring 22 points, including seven points in the first half and hauled in four rebounds.
“Maggie (Pothast) did exactly what we needed her to do today. Anything from inside the paint and three feet away, that is her job to rebound and score. She did great,” Fort Jennings coach Sean O’ Connor said.
Fort Jennings (1-10) continued to make is shots into the second quarter, but Delphos St. John’s (3-7) came roaring back vigorously to erase the 15-9 deficit entering the frame. Abby Kerner, who finished with 20 points, hit two shots from downtown within the first 90 seconds to bring the game level at 17 apiece.
Faith Cross was also hot from outside, knocking down a pair as well. Emma Will added five to her point total, finishing with 17.
“Eventually our pressure wore on them a little bit. We sped them up and created some turnovers,” said Delphos St. John’s coach Ian Finn. “Hats off to Fort Jennings, they played hard, and Maggie (Pothast) gave us everything we could handle.”
Hanna Grote and Browning helped Fort Jennings weather the storm before halftime, Grote collected six points, while Browning hit a three to give the Musketeers the 29-25 advantage after two.
The third quarter was the Maggie Pothast show for Fort Jennings. Pothast sealed her double-double performance with an 11-point frame; entering the fourth quarter she had 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Delphos St. John’s was held to just one field goal, by Will, and earned its stripes at the free throw line. The Blue Jays capitalized on 10 of 16 attempts to keep in striking distance, but Fort Jennings still led 45-38 after three.
“Our girls are gym rats, and the work they put in showed today,” Finn said. “They spend all kinds of time in the gym, and if we know we can continue to buy in day in and day out, we can really be something at the end of the year.”
In a matter of moments, Fort Jennings saw its lead go to the wayside. Kerner drained a pair of threes right out of the quarter break, Will hit one as well, and then it was Will’s free throw with 4:06 remaining that gave the Jays the 49-48 lead.
Ava Hershey extended that lead when she hit a wide-open three from the corner to seal the St. John’s come-from-behind victory.
Delphos St. John’s 55, Fort Jennings 51
Fort Jennings 15 14 16 6 – 51
Delphos St. John’s 9 17 12 18 — 55
