Wildkittens are halfway home

BATH - What is the best way to defend the Bath girls' basketball team?

So far this season, 10 teams have tried to find that answer and none have succeeded.

The Wildkittens beat visiting Van Wert by a 93-51 margin Thursday night in Western Buckeye League action.

The Cougars tried both zone and man-to-man defenses and nothing could slow the Bath offensive juggernaut as three different Wildkittens scored 20 points to pace the attack.

The Wildkittens (10-0, 3-0 WBL) and the Cougars were tied at 10-10 and 12-12 before Bath kicked into high gear and went on a 12-3 run to end the first quarter with a 24-15 lead.

The Bath press caused numerous Van Wert turnovers in the first half and the Wildkittens responded with easy baskets caused by the pressure.

"We didn't do a good job of hustling back on defense and didn't always cover their shooters," Van Wert coach Destri Bockey said. "The turnovers didn't help us any either."

Van Wert (3-6, 1-2 WBL) hung tough and trailed by only 10 points, 41-31, at the half after being outscored 17-16 in the second quarter.

Bath had scoring spurts of 11-0 and 7-0 in the third period and suddenly the lead ballooned to 62-41 after three quarters.

The Wildkittens received 16 points off the bench in the fourth period and breezed to a 31-10 quarter margin leading to the final score.

"Van Wert came out aggressive tonight and attacked our press and the rim and that got us in some foul trouble," Bath coach Greg Mauk said. "Stephanie Sanders got back on track tonight after a small slump."

Sanders, Rachel Mauk and Stephanie Mauk each totaled 20 points to pace the Wildkittens offense. Emily Mauk added 11 points coming off the bench to give Bath four players in double digit scoring.

"My dad tells me to try to visualize the shot going in," Sanders said. "I got in a good flow tonight and we played well as a team and found the open player."

Van Wert was led by Olivia Moore with 18 points and Jessica McClellan chipped in with 11 points for the Cougars.

The Wildkittens, who are known for their fondness for the 3-pointer, did hit on 8-of-21 from behind the arc for 38 percent. But Bath took advantage of their ability to get the ball inside as they connected on 27-of-42 on 2-point shots good for 64 percent shooting.

Van Wert committed 24 turnovers to only six for Bath, but the Cougars won the battle of the boards by a 33-23 margin.