ARCANUM – The Arcanum Lady Trojans earned their first win of the season in impressive fashion Monday night, handing the MAC’s Minster Lady Wildcats their first loss, 44–40, in a hard-fought non-conference matchup.
“That was a big one,” said veteran Arcanum coach Abbey Moore. “I am so excited for these girls. They have worked their tails off all year. The first two, we got bruised up a little bit.”
The game featured two ties and just one Minster lead—a brief one-point advantage that lasted only seconds before Arcanum punched back.
“When they punched us, we were able to make a big play and punch back,” Moore said. “A big part of that was being able to handle the basketball. Caroline made some big buckets in those moments, too. That’s important when you’re playing this caliber of basketball and the quality of teams we’re playing. Being able to handle those punches and come up with big buckets in big moments.”
Arcanum entered the night having dropped four straight to Minster. The Lady Trojans’ last win over the Wildcats came during their 21–3 season in 2021–2022. Since then, Minster had taken the matchups 59–52 (2022–2023), 53–48 (2023–2024), and 69–36 last year before ending Arcanum’s tournament run with a 54–24 win in the OHSAA Regionals.
This time, Arcanum flipped the script.
Arcanum raced out to a 9–2 lead on a Caroline Long reverse layup in the opening five minutes and closed the first quarter with a 12–4 advantage. Long then pushed the margin to double digits, 14–4, with a full-court layup at 6:44 in the second.
Minster responded with a 14–6 run to close the half, trimming Arcanum’s lead to 20–18 at the break.
The Lady Trojans regained control in the third, winning the period 14–8 to build a 36–30 lead heading into the fourth. Minster edged Arcanum 10–8 in the final frame but never got closer than four as the Trojans sealed the victory.
Caroline Long led all scorers with a game-high 22 points and delivered clutch baskets throughout the night.
“Kind of lost for words for her,” Moore said. “I have full confidence in her. She has shown in these first three games she is able to play with anybody. Now we have to be prepared for some double teams. We have to be creative with how we get her the basketball and how she scores. She’s going to draw that attention moving forward.”
Long said the win meant a great deal given recent history between the programs.
“It was very special tonight to win this compared to other years where we lost those,” Long said. “Tonight was a big win, and it has given us a lot of confidence moving forward that we can win against good opponents.”
Asked about the double teams she is sure to see in future games, Long didn’t hesitate.
“If they start double-teaming me, other people are going to be open,” she said. “So I’ll kick it out, and they’ll drain the three.”
BOXSCORE:
ARCANUM 44, MINSTER 40
ARCANUM – C. Long 22, M. Noe 11, J. Schwartz 9, A. Leeper 2 – TOTALS 12 8-12 4 44
MINSTER – A. Hemmelgarn 15, J. Belcher 12, R. Albers 6, K. Schmiesing 3, E. Albers 2, J. Hoying 2 – TOTALS 15 4-7 2 40
3-POINTERS
Arcanum 4 (M. Noe 2, J. Schwartz 2)
Minster 2 (J. Belcher 1, K. Schmiesing 1)
SCORE by QUARTERS
12-08-16-08 44 Arcanum
04-14-12-10 40 Minster
