Bender twins, Generals too much for Findlay

FINDLAY – The Bender twins from Anthony Wayne are both going to Villanova on basketball scholarships.At Findlay High on Tuesday, they showed why it might be one of the best package deals the school has ever made.Elisa and Brooke Bender, a pair of 6-foot seniors who can play anywhere from the post to the point, combined for 24 points in the first quarter, 36 in the first half and 48 in just three quarters of playing time in powering the Generals to a 68-21 win over Findlay in a Northern Lakes League Buckeye Division game at the FHS Gymnasium."They're a couple of very talented young ladies, and fun to be around, too," Anthony Wayne coach Jami Carter said of the Benders, who are two of four returning starters – all of them first- or second-team all-NLL selections – on a team that went 23-3 last season and came up just short of making the state tournament. "They're probably one of the best teams in the state. We knew that coming in," Findlay High coach Brian Rosendale said after the Trojans, young and inexperienced after heavy graduation losses, suffered their first loss in four games."The Bender girls are tremendous. Along with Pike (5-11 junior Leah), that's three D-I girls right there. They're long and they're lanky and I think we were a little intimidated with their size."Anthony Wayne's Kennedie Hill drilled a 3-pointer to open the game, Elise Bender scored a fast-break lay-up, Brooke Bender converted a steal and an offensive rebound and Elise Bender drove for a basket and was fouled.Two minutes into the game, Anthony Wayne led 11-0 and the rout was on.Brooke Bender would score 14 points in the first quarter, hitting two 3-pointers and accounting for 10 points during a 16-0 run that put the Generals up 29-5. She finished with 18 points.Elise Bender had 10 points in the first, second and third quarters. Word was she was going to go for the school single-game scoring record, but stopped at 30 before sitting out the fourth quarter.Anthony Wayne turned the ball over just four times, made 27-of-50 shots from the floor (54 percent) and played a scrappy defensive game that forced Findlay into 23 turnovers and 7-of-26 shooting."We play an up-tempo style game," Carter said."With our motion (offense) anybody can post up, anybody can shoot (the 3). Every game it's somebody else who is taking the lead, running the floor or getting a defensive stop."Findlay handled Anthony Wayne's trapping press pretty well, but struggled offensively in the half-court."I was a little disappointed in our effort," Rosendale said."We've been known to play really hard against them the last few years, but tonight we didn't set good screens. I think we stood around instead of running our offense. I was a little disappointed that we weren't more physical with them."Anthony Wayne improved to 3-0. All three wins were by winning margins of 30 or more points, likely putting an even bigger target of expectation on the Generals back."Pressure is a privilege, so we're used to it," said Carter, who has guided the Generals to a 66-13 overall record and three straight NLL girls basketball titles."We're just going to do what we do best and see where it takes us."While Tuesday's outcome will go down as a loss in the scorebook, Rosendale sees greater meaning in going against highly-touted teams like Anthony Wayne."We have to learn from it and move on to the next phase," he said."Tomorrow the sun is going to come up and it's a new day. The question is, how are we going to bounce back? Are we going to get ready for Whitmer (Friday at FHS) or are we going to sit and pout about this game?"I hope we come out and get ready for Whitmer."AN. WAYNE (3-0)Smith 0-3 0-0 0, K. Hill 1-4 0-0 3, Pike 3-7 0-0 7, E. Bender 11-15 6-7 30, B. Bender 8-10 0-1 18, Voltz 2-3 0-0 6, Lau. Brenneman 2-5 0-1 4, Lai. Brenneman 0-1 0-0 0, A. Hill 0-1 0-0 0, Sayed 0-1 0-0 0. TOTALS: 27-50 6-9—68.FINDLAY (3-1)Boes 0-1 0-0 0, Cox 0-2 0-0 0, Rood 0-2 2-2 2, Harris 3-12 0-0 8, Shinn 2-2 0-0 4, Dotson 0-1 2-2 2, Hammer 0-1 0-0 0, Saito 1-3 0-0 3, Taylor 0-0 0-0 0, Moyer 1-2 0-0 2. TOTALS: 7-26 4-4-21.An. Wayne 29 12 19 8—68Findlay 8 9 0 4—213-POINT GOALS: Anthony Wayne (); Findlay ().REBOUNDS: Anthony Wayne 8-19 (Smith 0-3, K. Hill 1-3, Pike 1-2, E. Bender 2-3, Voltz 2-2, B. Bender 2-3, Lai. Brenneman 0-1, A. Hill 0-1, Sayed 0-1); Findlay 3-6 (Boes 0-1, Saito 1-1, Dotson 0-1, Harris 2-3).TURNOVERS: Anthony Wayne 21 (E. Bender 6); Findlay 23 (Rood 6, Harris 4).JUNIOR VARSITY BLUE: Anthony Wayne, 31-14.JUNIOR VARSITY GOLD: Anthony Wayne, 25-12.