The Oldenburg Academy Lady Twisters have seen their ups and downs so far in 2022-23. Friday night
can certainly be counted in the former column for Eric Feller’s bunch.
A basket by Hannah Haverkos tied the game at 26 with 3:41 left in the third quarter. Two minutes later,
Ellie Ryan scored on an inbound play and OA held its slight advantage the remainder of the game to win
the county matchup over the 9-win Franklin County Wildcats for the first time since January 2015. Final
was 41-39.

Rachel Suttman and Bailey Kaiser swapped free throws before Kate Weber’s transition layup gave the
Twisters a 31-27 lead through three complete.
Already a foul-heavy contest, the teams combined for 13 penalties in the final frame alone as FC was left
little choice with OA in the lead and patiently nursing the clock during every possession.
Fittingly, a foul started the fourth as FC’s Nicole Mears picked up her fourth personal against Ryan. OA’s
forward banged in both foul shots for a 6-point spread. Wildcat senior Kassidy Schell scored at the other
end ahead of two more charities by Ryan. Schell’s three-pointer assisted by twin sister Kiersten sliced
the lead in half and FC coach Kyle VanMeter called timeout down 35-32.
Just under the 5-minute mark, Weber split defenders and deftly passed to Haverkos for a Twister deuce.
Ka. Schell’s fourth foul put OA in the bonus midway through the period, though Weber missed the front
end of the one-and-one. Oldenburg senior Ashley Borgman and Kassidy Schell traded single free throws
for a 38-33 game at the 2:40 point. Ki. Schell then got to the rim for two as FC called another timeout.
Kassidy Schell fouled out when play resumed, and Weber made 1-of-2 in the double-bonus. Mears
committed her fifth at 1:07; Haverkos split her foul attempts to make it 40-35. Another basket by Schell
made it a one-score game preceding a Wildcat timeout.
It was 40-38 after a Schell free throw. OA left the door open for the visitors in the last half-minute,
hitting just one of six FT tries. Rachel Lamping fouled out for the home side; freshman Ruby Singer sank
1-of-2 at the line. With a chance to tie it up late, the Cats stepped out of bounds for a turnover. In the
waning seconds, OA came up with a deflection and steal to seal the victory.
The hosts shot out to a 6-0 lead at the start. Lamping hit a triple and Haverkos a traditional 3-point play.
Sloppy play at both ends made for over three minutes of scoreless ball. FC finally scored at 2:12 when
Ka. Schell passed to Mears for a short jumper before getting a 3 herself to make it 6-5; Schell added
another dime on a Macy Crain finish. The Cats led 7-6 after eight minutes.
Senior Josie Rolfes opened the second quarter with a long ball (Ka. Schell assist) and a Mears follow-up
hoop had Feller calling time down 12-6. The break helped as OA scored the next six points. Lamping
inbounded to Haverkos for an uncontested lay-in; a Haverkos-to-Haverkos combination (Hannah to
Nora) tied the game.
Kaiser earned an assist when Rolfes again hit from long range. Borgman scored in the lane to make it 15-14 OA missed foul shots just before half, allowing FC to go up 18-14 at intermission.

A Mears putback started second-half action. Trailing by six again, OA fought back with H. Haverkos free
throws and Weber fast-break points. Ka. Schell put FC up 23-18 and later 25-19. OA then went on a
pivotal 16-4 swing. Suttman (2) and Lamping (3, assist Weber) got the ball rolling.
Each squad put seven girls in the scoring column, paced by Kassidy Schell’s game-high 14 and Hannah
Haverkos’ 13. OA added 7 from Ryan, 6 by Lamping, 5 apiece for Weber and Borgman, 3 by Suttman and
2 for Nora Haverkos. Supporting Schell were 7 each by Rolfes and Ki. Schell, 6 by Mears, 3 for Crain and a
free throw apiece for Kaiser and Singer.
FC (9-3) participates in the Ivy Tech Holiday Classic at Whiteland Friday. OA (6-5) has a 13-day break until
Waldron visits on the 29 th .

The Franklin County Lady Wildcats hosted the Richmond Lady Red Devils on Tuesday evening. Franklin County jumped out to an early lead going up 10-4 midway through the first quarter. Bailey Kaiser hit a basket before Richmond went on a four-point run that ended the frame with a buzzer beater from Madison Sonsini and it was 12-8 FC after one period. The Lady Cats put up four quick points to start the second quarter then Kassidy Schell hit a three pointer, but Richmond hung around and cut the lead five. Schell added a free throw before the half and FC led 20-14. Richmond scored the first six points in the third quarter to tie up the game. Lady Cat Nicole Mears added a put back basket to stop the run and Kiersten Schell added two more points to FC’s total and the Lady Cats held a six-point lead again. The teams traded baskets for the next two minutes until Richmond ended the frame on a 5-0 run and the score was 26-25 through three periods. The fourth quarter began and Ki. Schell was whistled for two quick fouls before any shots were even attempted. Lauren Stacy put in a three pointer and Mears hit a shot to give FC a 32-25 lead with half a period remaining to play. Richmond closed the lead to a single possession, but the Lady Cats drew fouls and finished the game off at the line hitting 12 of 15 in the period to win the game 44-33. The Lady Cats were led in scoring by Mears with 15, Ka. Schell 13, Josie Rofles 6, Ki. Schell 5, Stacy 3, Kaiser 2. Richmond was led by Sonsini with 16 points. The Lady Cats are now 8-2 on the season and will be back in action next Tuesday when they face the Batesville (4-4)

Franklin County varsity girls’ basketball continued its hottest start in six seasons over the weekend, using a healthy first quarter to post a 54-41 win over the visiting Morristown Lady Yellow Jackets – a new opponent for FC this winter.

FC defenders held the Jackets to just 15 points in the opening half as the offense secured 27 markers. The third quarter also went the Lady Wildcats’ way, 16-11.

The senior Schell sisters accounted for 70% of the offense on the afternoon; Kiersten netted a game-high 23 points while Kassidy added 15. Junior Nicole Mears hauled in an impressive 18 rebounds while adding 7 points and 3 blocks on defense. Morristown put three girls in double figures: Nevaeh Sanders (15), Danika Rutledge (13) and Raegan Kleine (10).

FC welcomed Richmond Tuesday (result not available at press time) and will next visit conference rival Batesville Tuesday.