COLDWATER – Junior post Riley Rismiller faced double and triple teams from a swarming Kalida defense on Tuesday night but found a way to score a game high 19 points while grabbing 15 rebounds as she helped her Cavaliers to a 46-32 victory over the Wildcats.
Feeling like she signed up to play in the Coldwater upcoming state football championship game the Division 1 recruit exploded for six of her 19 markers in the third to help give her squad a 20-19 lead they wouldn’t surrender behind an array of post moves.
Coldwater jumped out to an early 7-0 lead on baskets by Annelise Harlamert and Becca Wenning before the Wildcats were able to reach the scoreboard themselves for the first time with 1:34 remaining on a basket by Camille Hovest.
Just before the first quarter stoppage the visitors cut the deficit to 8-5 on a three point goal by Brooke Erhart that fell through the net just ahead of the buzzer.
Erhart’s triple would be the first of eight Kalida would make on the night as a pair from teammates Amanda Unverferth and Erhart again in the early portion of the second brought the score close each time.
Baskets by Rismiller and Jenna Leugers pushed the Cavalier lead to 16-12 with 3:13 to go before the break but again the Wildcats resolve wouldn’t let them fail to get even on a four point run by Unverferth and a free throw by Meridith Bockrath to send the game knotted at 16-16 at the half.
Seconds into the third quarter Rismiller struck for the first basket of the third quarter as she floated a shot to push her team ahead by two before a three pointer on the opposite end of the floor by Brooke Vennekotter made it 19-18 Kalida. Working against defenders nearly half a foot shorter than her, Rismiller scored on the next Cavaliers possession to put her team back on top for good at 20-19.
The first of two big scoring droughts by the Wildcats came over the last three minutes of the period after an Amanda Unverferth triple cut the advantage to 24-22 and lasted until early in the fourth. While the hosts were able to keep their guests off the scoreboard the offense had no issues putting up points on baskets by Becca Wenning and Annelise Harlamert finished the quarter on an 8-0 run for a 32-22 lead.
Three shots found their way to the bottom of the net for the Wildcats in the fourth quarter, all triples by the trio of Vennekotter, Unverferth, and Livia Recker that pulled their team within seven early in the period before Coldwater took over for good.
Riley Rismiller pushed the Coldwater advantage to double digits and ultimately to a 46-32 final as she hit for nine points and helped teammate Annelise Harlamert reach double figures with 11 markers.
Kalida finished the game 8 of 32 from behind the arc while hitting just 2 of 19 from inside and 2 of 8 from the free throw line.
“I’m pleased with the way we’re buying in defensively but we are putting too much pressure on our defense with our poor shooting. We have to continue to shoot with confidence and hopefully more of those looks start to go down” said Kalida head coach Adam Huber on his teams performance.
Kalida drops to 1-1 on the season and will next be in action on Saturday afternoon when they travel to the Elida Fieldhouse to battle the Bulldogs.
Coldwater runs their record to 2-1 and will be back on the court Thursday evening in Delphos at the Vatican as they open up MAC play against Delphos St. Johns.
Scoring:
Coldwater (46):
Becca Wenning 6
Jenna Leugers 6
Annelise Harlamert 11
Claire Steinke 4
Riley Rismiller 19
FT: 10/13
3PT: 0
TO: 12
Kalida (32):
Brooke Vennekotter 6
Amanda Unverferth 9
Livia Recker 4
Meridith Bockrath 3
Brooke Erhart 6
Camille Hovest 4
FT: 2/8
3PT: 8/32 (A. Unverferth 3, Vennekotter 2, Erhart 2, Recker)
TO: 7
JV: Kalida 55-14