LIMA – Three players in double figures Thursday night for Ottawa Glandorf spoiled a special night for Shawnee as the Titans emerged victorious 68-41 inside Lappin Gymnasium.
Shawnee junior sharpshooter Gracie Freiberger connected on a three point goal 1:45 into the game to put her team on top 3-0 and make her the sixth member of the Indians 1,000 point club and the first to accomplish the feat during her junior campaign.
Following a quick stoppage for celebration the Titans jumped on the gas pedal and raced out to a 16-5 first quarter lead fueled by a 14-0 run of points from Kaitlyn Kimmet, Kaelyn Grothause, and Katie Kaufman during a frenzy that saw Kimmet lead the way with a pair of long distance connections.
Held to just a pair of makes from Freiberger in the first quarter the Indians turned to their evenings honoree in the second and watched as she hit for eight of the teams first 10 points. Baskets by Brynn Patterson and a pair of Sydney Burris came later in the period but were wedged deep in between a pair of OG runs.
Ottawa Glandorf hitched their wagon in the second period to their sensational sophomore Kaelyn Grothause who produced nearly every basket for most of the quarter whether from her own or setting up a teammate on the fast break after a steal. OG’s 5’4 guard tallied 12 of her 16 markers in the stanza and helped the Titans race to an insurmountable lead of 38-20 at the halftime stoppage.
Fast paced and at times out of control for both teams in the third the squads traded blows that saw the Titans strike for a pair from deep on makes by Emma Brinkman and Kimmet to widen the lead to 46-26 midway through the stanza.
Senior Ania Pearson, the school’s recent record breaker for rebounds in a career and averaging 13.1 caroms this year tallied all four of her points against OG’s foul depleted lineup in the third and teamed with Freiberger and Marie Seignon to attempt to keep the host alive heading to the final eight minutes.
Unfortunately for the Indians their hopes of knocking off the Titans for the second straight season came to an end as the game moved on thanks to baskets by Kimmet, Kaufman, and Grothause. Myka Aldrich tossed in a pair of free throws in the late moments of the game but the dagger came from Megan Horstman who splashed home her five triple of the evening counting the four she hit in the JV contest to cement the victory.
Shawnee falls to 7-12 on the season and 4-4 in the Western Buckeye League and will next be in action on Saturday as they host Lima Central Catholic.
Gracie Freiberger paced the hosts with 21 points while Grothause (16), Kaufman (14), and Kimmet (career high 17) all notched double figures for Ottawa Glandorf.
#5 ranked OG moves to 16-3 on the season and wraps up at least a share of their 14th WBL championship with a 7-0 league mark following the victory. Next up for the Titans is a Sunday 3:30pm makeup date against league rival Celina that can be heard on WZOQ Radio.
“It was fun seeing most of our girls relaxed and aggressive getting good looks on offense. I loved seeing the smiles on Karsyn, Kaelyn, and Kaitlyn’s faces after making big shots. We’ve still got some work to do in the post and I wasn’t real pleased with the 15 points we gave up in the second, but enough good things happened for us to build off of. Carlie and Megan are really starting to grow into players we can trust which will hopefully give us a few more bodies to rotate” said OG coach Troy Yant after the win.
Scoring:
OG (68):
Karsyn Erford 7
Megan Horstman 6
Kaelyn Grothause 16
Emma Brinkman 3
Myka Aldrich 3
Carlie Brinkman 2
Kaitlyn Kimmet 17
Katie Kaufman 14
FT: 13/19
3PT: 7 (Kimmet 3, Erford, Horstman, Grothause, E. Brinkman)
TO: 13
Shawnee (41):
Marie Seignon 2
Alexis Whetstone 3
Gracie Freiberger 21
Brynn Patterson 5
Sydney Burris 6
Ania Pearson 4
FT: 7/9
3PT: 2 (Freiberger, Whetstone)
TO: 18
By Quarter
OG 16-12-16-14
Shawnee 5-15-12-9
JV: 58-17 OG (Titans 19-0)