Fort Loramie’s Siegel wins No. 200; Russia rolls
The second round of the 29th Girls Division IV Sidney Sectionals resumed Tuesday evening with two contests on the docket. And a sparse crowd witnessed a mild upset in the first game and a coaching milestone in the nightcap.
Russia 41 Troy Christian 35
Decimated by injuries all season, the Lady Raiders salvaged a frustrating campaign with its second post-season victory.
Sixth seed Troy Christian jumped out to a 14-6 first quarter margin behind Danielle Forrer’s 10 points, but the eighth seed Raiders fought back to take the lead for the first time 29-27 with 1:06 left in the third period, and expanded it to 33-27 at quarter’s end.
Markia Harris of the Eagles tied it at 35-35 with 2:37 left, but then Russia scored the game’s final six points to post the mild upset.
Katie Borchers and Brooke Gariety mounted the comeback with 12 points a piece. Jessie Zumberger added six points.
Forrer paced the Eagles with 16 points.
Russia improves to 9-12 and face Fort Loramie Saturday at high noon in the sectional finals. Troy Christian ends the season 14-7.
Russia coach Tim Barga (471 wins) talked about the mental damage to his team due to injuries to five key players.
“We struggled mentally when 6′ 3″ Kara Daughtery tore her ACL before the season started. Then Kristi Borchers tore her ACL. The kids were kind of lost. We had to play two to three to four freshmen at times,” Barga said. “Erica Goubeaux missed several games with a dislocated elbow. Jessie Zumberger missed six games, and Makenzie Monnin missed several games with a broken wrist.”
Coach concluded, “It’s nice to get these two wins. Big for the kids coming back as well as the seniors. They all have been through so much.”
“I like the way this team fought back tonight. Our defense was key. Especially the job Katie Borchers did on Maria Schafer.”
Fort Loramie 67 Bradford 13
On paper this game was supposed to be a blow out. On the court, it was even worse.
The Lady Redskins pounced early and often with their full-court press and half-court trap en route to a 19-2 first quarter lead. Loramie expanded it to 35-3 at the break and 58-9 after three quarters.
The usual suspects, Clair Ruhenkamp and Janel Olberding, scored 18 and 16 points, respectively, with limited playing time.
The most exciting part, though, was the post game. Fort Loramie coach of 11 seasons, Carla Siegel, was awarded the Game Ball for her 200th career win. That’s 18 wins a year. That’s insane!
The Loramie faithful stormed the court to deliver banners and posters and cake to celebrate the special occasion.
Hiding back tears of joy, Siegel reflected on her career as a player at Fort Loramie, a player at Mount St. Joseph’s College in Cincinnati, and then back to Fort Loramie as a JV coach and head coach 16 years ago.
“I am so blessed to be here. The girls listen to me. They work hard. The parents support me. Look what they did tonight. I am so fortunate. I never imagined being a coach. It just kind of happened.”
She added, “I have learned so much from all my great coaches. My high school coach Jan Poeppelman. Coach Dow in college. And all my AAU coaches. They taught me passion for the game and now I pass it on to these kids. I’d like to thank all my assistant coaches. Bill Barhorst, Erin Turner, and Tracy Schulze.”
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