Minteer had been struggling from the 3-point line in recent weeks, but scored five quick points — including a 3-pointer — in the first quarter as Greenon jumped out to an early 12-4 lead they would never relinquish.
“It really boosted my confidence,” Minteer said. “Hitting those late 3s, late layups, contact layups really helped me know that I can hit these shots.”
Greenon senior forward Sydney Hartley had a career-high 14 points and junior guard Sarah Riley added 10 as the Knights improved to 7-5 overall.
Sophomore Sammy Russell scored 15 points for Tecumseh (6-5).
“They hit a lot of shots and we didn’t,” said Tecumseh coach Chasity Russell. “We couldn’t hit anything tonight and that’s kind of how our team is. We’ll have one game where we shoot really well and the next game we don’t shoot very well. It’s just which team shows up.”
Tecumseh cut the lead to 19-15 midway through the second quarter, but Minteer answered with a 3-pointer to push it back to seven points. She hit a driving layup with seven seconds remaining in the first half to make it 30-21.
The Knights outscored the Arrows 23-13 in the third quarter to bring home the victory.
A year ago, Greenon led at the half, but Tecumseh stormed back in the third quarter to bring home the victory.
“Last year we lost to them in a heartbreaker,” Minnich said. “Coming back, we said we wanted to win this game, playing in this great facility and being the last game of the day, we knew it was going to be a big deal. Our girls stepped up and finally saw that switch turn on about how we want to play basketball the rest of the season.”
Tecumseh is seeking its third Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail Division title in four seasons. The Arrows are tied atop the division with Jonathan Alder and Urbana at 3-1. They have a key matchup against Urbana on Jan. 6 before playing seven straight road games.
“It’s going to be tough one … but we’ve all got one league loss,” Russell said. “It really could be up in the air, it just depends on which team of ours shows up.”
After starting the season 1-4, the Knights have won six of their last seven games. The defending Ohio Heritage Conference South Division champions are 3-5 in the division, four games back of first-place Southeastern. The Knights have several key matchups coming up, including a trip to Mechanicsburg on Friday, Jan. 5. The boys varsity game will be held at 6 p.m. followed by the varsity girls game at 7:30 p.m.
“It felt great and I’m glad we were able to pull out a win,” Minteer said. “I hope this win carries on and we can finish out the season winning the rest.”
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