OTTAWA – Though the calendar says it’s the middle of the holiday season the Lady Titans weren’t feeling very charitable on Tuesday night as their scrooge like defense held Crestview in check on the way to a 63-34 victory.
Ottawa Glandorf’s in your face pressure defense fueled an pair of quick baskets and a 4-0 lead in the opening minute and helped the Titans to allow just one Knight shot, a make by Josie Kulwicki at 6:47 to fall through the net on the way to a 13-2 first quarter.
“OG does a great job defensively making you have to work so hard for everything” opined Crestview boss Mark Gregory.
Things continued to get worse for the Knights in the second period as the Titans expanded their lead behind a season high 17 effort from Chloee Glenn, a senior who recently returned from an injury that cost her nearly a full year away from the court.
Trailing 15-2 in the opening minutes of the second the Knights offense found a bit of a spark thanks to junior standout Cali Gregory who poured in all twelve of her first half points and showcased a personal 7-0 run in just under two minutes to bring her team to within 17-12 with 5:22 showing on the clock.
Emma Brinkman finished off the Ottawa Glandorf run of nearly two minutes during Gregory’s run with a triple from the wing to push the score back to eight and helped out teammates Kaelyn Grothause and Karsyn Erford on scores off of the Knights 13 first half turnovers.
Standout defender Lily Haselman pushed the Titan lead to 30-16 just before the half as she utilized her speed to race down court for a fast break layup and ensuing foul shot.
Balanced scoring and Crestview turnovers in the third period helped the hosts to amass a 21-7 eight minutes of play as the duo of Kaitlyn Kimmet and Emma Brinkman teamed up to knock down a pair of shots from deep behind the arc while Katie Kaufman and Chloee Glenn worked the undermanned post of Crestview.
Crestview opened the evening with the news that junior Laci McCoy, a 5’9 defender who scored 14 in the win over the Titans at Cedar Point last season would not play and were forced to watch as OG swarmed Gregory whenever she came near the basketball.
Gregory, a 1st team Northwest Conference selection for the Knights last season did all she could do for her squad in the contest as she hit for a game high 24 points, just three shy of the mark she laid upon the Titans a season ago on the way to 27.
Unfortunately for Crestview their only other points in the second half came on one make each by Ellie Kline, Kennedy Crider, and Haley McCoy while the hosts found seven players in their book on the way to a 33-18 advantage over the final two periods.
“OG is a matchup nightmare. They wore us down and made lots of plays on both ends of the floor” finished Mark Gregory in his post game synopsis of the evening.
Crestview falls to 6-3 on the season and will next be in action on January 5th as they open the 2023 portion of their schedule with an NWC tilt against Bluffton.
Ottawa Glandorf moves to 8-2 and will travel down Route 65 to visit neighboring Columbus Grove on Thursday night for the final chapter of their 2022 campaign. The Titans were led for the third straight game with three in double figures as Chloee Glenn finished with 17, Emma Brinkman with 11, and Katie Kaufman with 10.
“Katie Kaufman played very well in the post, Chloee Glenn is getting back into basketball condition and Emma Brinkman had a nice night offensively off the bench” said OG coach Troy Yant postgame.
Scoring:
OG (63):
Karsyn Erford 8
Megan Horstman 2
Lily Haselman 3
Kaelyn Grothause 2
Emma Brinkman 11
Myka Aldrich 2
Kaitlyn Kimmet 8
Katie Kaufman 10
Chloee Glenn 17
FT: 7/8
3PT: 4 (E. Brinkman 3, Kimmet)
TO: 15
Crestview (34):
Macy Kulwicki 2
Ellie Kline 2
Cali Gregory 24
Kennedy Crider 2
Josie Kulwicki 2
Haley McCoy 2
FT: 4/8
3PT: 2 (Gregory 2)
TO: 20
By Quarter:
OG 13-17-21-8
CV 2-14-7-11
JV: Ottawa Glandorf 45-19