SPRINGFIELD- Two years ago when the Tecumseh girls’ basketball team was winless, opponents could feel comfortable when taking the floor against the Lady Arrows.
Those days are long gone.

The Lady Arrows battled the highly-touted Kenton Ridge Cougars to the final buzzer on Saturday, as KR scored four points in the final 1:26 to escape with a 53-50 win over the Lady Arrows.  Along with close losses against Wayne (10-2) and Tippecanoe (9-2), Tecumseh has become a force in the Central Buckeye Conference.
“I couldn’t have asked for any more effort from any of them tonight,” said Tecumseh coach Danielle Thomas after the game.  While disappointed with the loss, she knows the respect is now here.
“The kids made good adjustments tonight, it’s just one missed shot, one rebound, one loose ball that is the difference.”
One big thing that she did reflect on was the missed free throws, which is huge in this kind of game.
“Against the (top teams), you have to make your free throws, and I guarantee everyone missed at least one,” she added.
Tecumseh (6-4) came out and set the tone early, jumping out to a 9-2 lead in the first two minutes.  Bianca Quisenberry ripped a three-pointer as a opening statement, and when Jill Steinbrunner and Megan Christmann added short jumpers, the Lady Arrows were in early control. 
Chelsey Davis added to the attack, pushing their lead to 13-4 before the Lady Cougars scored seven straight, thanks mostly to Lindsey Fenwick.
Both teams battled early in the second quarter, trading the lead six times in the first four minutes, as Quisenberry scored five quick points, and Jennifer Vlasic added a bucket.  The Cougars took the lead when Fenwick hit a three with 4:28 left in the half, and they kept the lead for the rest of the half, going into the intermission with a 34-31 advantage.
Christmann and Quisenberry brought Tecumseh back early in the third to tie the game, but again, Kenton Ridge would take the lead, and maintain it throughout the quarter, and took a six point lead into the fourth period, and some wondered if they would start to pull away. 
Quisenberry, who led Tecumseh with 19 points, scored 17 of those in the first half, and was held in check in the second half.  But even with her not scoring, Tecumseh stayed right with the Cougars thanks to strong play from the other players on the floor.
“We have been working on that all week, I knew what Ed (Foulk, Kenton Ridge coach) would do,” Thomas said.  “The girls did their job in the second half.  I thought we owned the boards in the second half, and went after every miss.”
Frappier scored the first five points of the fourth quarter, including a big three-point shot that brought the Lady Arrows back to within one with an 8-0 run.  Davis added an old fashioned three-point play, that gave Tecumseh a 47-45 lead.  It would be their last lead of the night.
Down the stretch, Mariah Harris gave the Cougars the lead for good with an easy shot, and Fenwick hit two free throws with 12 seconds left.  A last second Tecumseh attempt to tie the game fell short.
In addition to Quisenberry scoring in double figures, Davis added 13 points for the Lady Arrows.  Harris led KR with 19 and Fenwick added 12.
Tecumseh returns to action Wednesday night, January 12 hosting Northmont.
* Also last week in an 84-45 Tecumseh victory over Shawnee, Quisenberry broke her own school record with a 44-point night against the Braves.