Fort Frye’s Ella Dowler (32) looks to pass as Waterford’s Gracie Hartline (4) and Brynnlee Pottmeyer (12) defend during Wednesday’s game at the Harry Cooper Annex. (Photo by Mike Morrison)

WATERFORD – For many years the Fort Frye Cadet and Waterford Wildcat girls team have tried to schedule one another towards the very end of the season to use the game as kind of a preview for what to expect with OHSAA tournament play right around the corner.

The two renewed that rivalry Wednesday night at the Cooper Annex and the Cadets rolled to a 49-28 win to close out the regular season for both squads.

Cadet junior Ella Dowler and freshman Raelann Morgenstern combined for 30 points as Fort Frye took advantage of some sloppy play on behalf of the Wildcats to close out the season with an 18-4 record.

Waterford (12-10) turned the ball over 25 times in the game to give an already potent Fort Frye offense too many extra opportunities to put the ball in the bucket.

“I felt like our defensive intensity was very good tonight and we were able to create quite a few turnovers,” said first-year Cadet head coach Cathy Borich. “We were able to get out and push the ball up the court and we feel like when we are able to do that we play better.”

Waterford’s Ava Hurley, left, handles the ball as Fort Frye’s Aubrie Lang (24) defends during Wednesday’s game at the Harry Cooper Annex. (Photo by Mike Morrison)

Waterford trailed by just a point late in the opening quarter before the Cadets scored 13 unanswered points to put some distance between them and the Cats.

Freshman Jantzyn Huck got the run started for FF with a drive and finish with the left hand before Morgenstern made a free throw.

Dowler closed out the opening quarter with a bang as she beat the buzzer with a three-pointer that left her hands a few feet behind the half-court line and found nothing but the bottom of the net.

Fort Frye continued their run into the second quarter as junior Khoen Courson scored back-to-back baskets before Dowler knocked down another triple to complete the run and give the Cadets a 20-6 advantage.

A three-pointer from Waterford freshman Zoey Smithberger finally brought an end to the Cadet run but they still went on to take a 25-11 lead into the break.

Fort Frye opened the second half with a two-pointer by Elle Casto before the Wildcats made a bit of a run by scoring eight consecutive points to cut the lead to eight.

Sophomore Brynlee Pottmeyer got the run started by knocking down a three-pointer before junior Ava Hurley connected on a short-jumper.

On the next Wildcat possession Pottmeyer got three more the old fashioned way as the lead shrunk to 27-19.

The Wildcats couldn’t continue the momentum the rest of the quarter though as they turned the ball over four more times as the Cadets rebuilt their lead back to 14 by the end of the period.

Dowler’s triple to open the final quarter made it a 17-point Fort Frye lead and pretty much put things out of reach for the Cadets.

Dowler led all scorers with 16 points including four from behind the arc while Morgenstern chipped in with 14 points.

Huck added seven as the Cadet freshmen accounted for 21 of the Cadets 49 points.

“It’s really nice going into tournaments now that we have some younger players that can step in there and be productive,” said Borich. “That allows us to be able to go out teams really hard for the entire 32 minutes.”

Waterford was led by Pottmeyer with 12 points while their freshman class of Hayes and Smithberger added five points apiece.

Wildcat head coach Jerry Close placed the defeat firmly on his team’s inability to take care of the basketball.

“We came out and played with some good intensity early on but then we started making mistakes and dug ourselves a hole,” said Close. “We just turned the ball over too much tonight and when you let a team like that get on a run it’s hard to come back and beat them.”

Both teams will now set their sights on the tournament, which begins for the top-seeded Cadets this Saturday when they host Sugarcreek Garaway.

“I feel really good about where we are at but our district is really, really tough,” said Borich. “It’s going to be a challenge and I think we can do it but we are definitely going to have to bring our A-game every single night.”

After a tough start to the season, the defending state champion Wildcats have improved dramatically from the start of the season and even picked up a share of the Tri-Valley Conference crown along the way with Eastern.

“We don’t have much time to worry about things because we’ve got a lot of things we need to fix,” said Close, whose team will open tournament play on Tuesday against Ripley-Union-Lewis-Huntington at Southeastern High School. (8 p.m.) “We’ve had 22 practice games and now it’s time for the real stuff and we will see if we’re ready for it.”