Steinhilber leads Boone on both ends

VALPARAISO — Boone Grove’s Sarah Steinhilber is known for her defense.

Yet in Thursday night’s nonconference game against Wheeler, the junior guard was downright offensive.

Steinhilber not only came up big defensively for the Wolves (10-5) but scored a team-high 12 points in a 38-31 win over the Bearcats (6-8) on Senior Night.

“She did a nice job for us tonight,’’ Wolves coach Candy Wilson said. “She’s really been clutch for us on offense the last two games and is starting to step up for us offensively.

“We’ve been working on her confidence a lot. Sarah has the athletic ability. She just needs to gain more confidence in herself and bring it on offense like she does on defense.’’

Nobody was more surprised by Steinhilber’s performance than Steinhilber.

“I just felt like I really had to step up offensively, because we were in foul trouble. It came out of nowhere. There are times when I don’t even score in games. I don’t even look at the scoreboard when I’m playing — I just go. I block everything out and just play.

“It’s exciting for me to be able to help us win. I couldn’t have done it without (my teammates).’’

The Wolves won despite miserable free-throw shooting (8 for 22) and poor ballhandling (26 turnovers).

“We’ve been shooting them every day in practice,’’ Wilson said. “It’s really been a problem this year. It’s something we’re working on and just have to overcome.’’

Wheeler couldn’t overcome its 33 turnovers and making only 11 of 34 shots.

“The turnovers really killed us, especially in a tight game like that,’’ Wheeler coach Dustin Nelson said. “We were surprised to still be in the game after turning it over like that. You just can’t turn it over that much and expect to be successful. We just have to get used to handling pressure. I need to do a better job of preparing them to be able to handle pressure.’’

Nikole Finch scored 12 points, Shannon Eden had 11 and Allie Stevenson had six steals for the Bearcats.

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