OTTAWA – Junior Liv Grothause led all scorers Saturday afternoon at the Supreme Court with a career high 19 points and a 9/12 peformance from the floor as the Titans outlasted Crestview 51-36.
Grothause, a 5’7 stopper on the defensive end scored on an array of passes from teammates on the fast break to pull O-G even or push them ahead in the first half.
“I thought Liv really stepped up today, especially with Karsyn (Erford) struggling a bit,” said Titan head coach Troy Yant. “Liv and Carlie had a couple of nice plays together that helped fuel our mini run to put us up 10,” said Yant.
Seniors Kaitlyn Kimmet and Carlie Brinkman provided the spark for the blue and gold offense in the first period as they connected with a trio of shots from behind the arc to send the game tied to the first stoppage.
Crestview sharpshooters Kaci Gregory and Ellie Kline helped the Knights to an early lead and back to even in the first as they finished with nine points on the way to five and 13 in the half respectively.
Tasked with an early afternoon tilt and having not played each in over a week, both teams found themselves unable to shake out bouts of sluggish offense through the second and third periods.
“O-G does a great job at making things difficult,” said Crestview coach Mark Gregory.
Ottawa Glandorf’s patented pressure defensive made things nearly unbearable for the Knights in the third quarter offensively. Led by Grothause but propped up by a triple from Gracie Lammers and basket from Megan Horstman, O-G raced out to a 34-24 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
Crestview (8-3) was held to just a single basket, a two-point goal from Josie Kulwicki seconds before the horn to end a drought of nearly 10 minutes by the smothering Titan defense.
Gregory and Kline combined again to fuel the Knights offense in the fourth but were unable to stop Grothause and Erford from the field and Kimmet from the free throw line to keep the game within striking distance.
Ottawa Glandorf improves to 7-0 on the season and to 124-14 at home in 13 years under head coach Troy Yant. The Titans will return to action for their 2024 finale on Monday when they visit Shawnee in a WBL contest, while the Knights are off until January 7th when they host Antwerp.
“Our girls battled for 32 minutes, but struggled to knock down shots in the second half,” said Gregory. “This game will make us better.”
Though the Titans momentarily held their collective breaths when Horstman went down and was forced to leave the game for a spell, the Supreme Court faithful erupted at the return of senior Kaelyn Grothause from her own injury.
“The best part other than winning today was getting to see Kaelyn out there,” said Yant. “Carlie had some nice plays and Gracie Lammers did a nice job stepping up and guarding on defense when Megan went down,” finished Yant.
Scoring:
OG (51):
Liv Grothause 19
Karsyn Erford 9
Carlie Brinkman 7
Gracie Lammers 3
Megan Horstman 2
Kaitlyn Kimmet 11
FT: 7/9
3PT: 4 (C. Brinkman 2, Lammers, Kimmet)
TO: 11
Crestview (36):
Kaci Gregory 9
Ellie Kline 17
Peyton Hoffman 2
Haley McCoy 2
Kennedy Crider 2
Josie Kulwicki 4
FT: 8/8
3PT: 2 (Gregory, Kline)
TO: 16
JV: Ottawa Glandorf 51-18