ELIDA, Ohio — From the tip, it appeared to be a battle of a two-time defending state champion against a young wide-eyed team that hadn’t been to the regional tournament since 1994.
By the end of the Division IV girls basketball regional semifinal at the Elida Fieldhouse on Thursday night, that young Toledo Christian squad matured by leaps and bounds.
Despite trailing by 18 points in the second half, the Eagles clawed back to within three in the closing minute before falling to Minster, 58-50.
“I was proud of their poise and their determination,” Eagles coach Tim Wensink said. “I was happy with our adjustments. They really executed in the second half. We kept them off the boards. We did what we needed to do. We hit big shots. Honestly, that was one of the best second halves we’ve had all year, and we’ve had a lot of good ones.”
At the end of the night, there were two spots that had a big factor in the game: the first quarter and an intentional foul call on Toledo Christian with 38 seconds to go in the game.
The former left the Eagles (21-4) in a big hole, and the latter finished them off.
The Wildcats (21-5) came out of the tipoff stingy on defense, forcing eight turnovers while holding the Eagles to four points on 2 of 10 shooting.
Wensink said the big stage and new experience for his team could have played into his club’s first-quarter effort.
“I think that was a lot to do with it. These girls come to a regional, a first appearance since [1994], so it’s tough,” Wensink said. “[Minster] is a back-to-back state title team. They have a lot of experience. … I think that really did hurt us a little bit, but I was would proud of how they came back and just fought.”
What Minster did with those extra first-quarter opportunities left coach Mike Wiss a bit frustrated after the game.
“In the first quarter, I was really pleased with how we [played]. We had a great energy in the first quarter,” Wiss said. “That being said, I think some of that energy was a little too much for our multiple missed layups in the first quarter. . But, on the other end of the floor, we played pretty darn good defense in the first quarter, holding them to four points.
“We had 16 [points] with 10 missed layups.”
Toledo Christian junior Madison Royal-Davis had 28 points, eight rebounds, three steals, a pair of blocks, and a whole lot of frustration for the Minster ball handlers.
“Trying to hold down [Royal-Davis] is tough,” Wiss said. “It’s tough to practice against her length because she can get her hand on so many balls against a 5-9 girl that you usually play against don’t get.”
It was Royal-Davis who willed her team back in the fourth quarter. She had 12 points, two of her steals, and a block in the first six-plus minutes, cutting Minster’s 11-point lead to start the quarter to 51-46 with 1:28 to go. Minster picked up a point at the line before TC’s Brynn Beard buried a 3-pointer from in front of her bench to make it 52-49 with 44 seconds to go.
On the ensuing inbounds, Beard was defending Ivy Wolf and was called for an intentional foul when going for the ball. Despite the case Wensink made with the officials, the call stood.
Wolf made both free throws and, three seconds and another TC foul later, Minster had pulled the margin back to 56-49.
Wiss said it factored into the result.
“The intentional foul was a big part in [us icing the game], giving us two extra free throws and the ball out of bounds,” Wiss said.
He said the Eagles’ 3-point shooting was unreal, as Toledo Christian went 8 of 11 outside.
Wolf had a team-high 15 points and four steals for the Wildcats. Janae Hoying and Ella Mescher each had 12 points.
First Published March 6, 2020, 3:51 a.m.
