OTTAWA – Host Ottawa Glandorf led 11-3 after the first period on Saturday afternoon at the Supreme Court and outscored visiting Miller City 51-37 the rest of the way to claim a 62-40 non-league victory.
O-G (9-0) was led in scoring by junior Karsyn Erford who opened the third period white hot en route to 11 quarter markers and 15 points overall.
“Karsyn was nearly unstoppable in the third quarter,” said Titan head coach Troy Yant.
Miller City’s Erford, junior Libby also found her scoring output skyrocketing in the third stanza as she knocked down a pair of triples as part of a 20-point second half. Erford’s total of 24 was not only a game high, it also represented a new career high for her.
“I thought Libby did a nice job attacking and creating offense off the dribble and finding a shot for herself and other girls,” said Miller City boss Ross Heuerman. “Their Erford (Karsyn) was aggressive in attacking and hit a couple of outside shots to open things up for them.”
Miller City (8-4) scored the first point of the afternoon on a layup from Libby Erford but were unable to keep the lead for long as long distance connections from Carlie Brinkman and Kaelyn Grothause singed the net.
Ottawa Glandorf, known for their high pressure defense turned up the heat on the visiting Wildcats after taking a 6-2 lead. Trailing 16-3 with 4:52 remaining in the half, Miller City notched their first field goal since the 6:56 mark of the first quarter to cut into the Titan advantage.
“They did a nice job of taking away reversal passes which really bothered us in the first half,” said Heuerman.
The Titans team takeover on the offensive end saw eight players in the scorebook. Senior Kaelyn Grothause accounted for a pair of triples and eight points while senior teammate Kaitlyn Kimmet crashed in a triple of her own in the first quarter on the way to a solid game with 11 points and a handful of disruptions on the defensive end.
“It was really nice to see Kaelyn make some shots today and play with more confidence,” said Yant.
Outside of Erford, Miller City was held to three scorers and eight points in the first half. In the second half however Miller City found scoring from four other players including Andrea Pfau and Kayla Erford thanks to hustle plays set up by their own defensive pressure.
“We started out slow, and although we hit three threes in the first quarter, our run game struggled and we had too many turnovers trying to establish ourselves,” said Yant. “All and all it’s a win and we were able to work on some rotations for our top 11 players. We need to find a way to play to a higher standard regardless of the score though.”
Today’s game was the first meeting between the two programs since 2016 but the 57th all-time meeting dating back to the 1973/74 campaign.
Miller City is off until next Saturday when they travel to Arlington while Ottawa Glandorf plays host to Route 65 rival Columbus Grove at the Supreme Court on Tuesday evening.
Scoring:
OG (62):
Liv Grothause 9
Karsyn Erford 15
Carlie Brinkman 11
Gracie Lammers 2
Madison McKee 4
Kaelyn Grothause 8
Greta Liebrecht 2
Kaitlyn Kimmet 11
FT: 7/12
3PT: 7 (Erford 2, C. Brinkman 2, K. Grothause 2, Kimmet)
TO: 17
Miller City (40):
Libby Erford 24
Kiera Ruhe 1
Lou Michel 5
Hailey Warnimont 6
Andrea Pfau 2
Kayla Erford 2
FT: 6/7
3PT: 4 (L. Erford)
TO: 19
JV: Ottawa Glandorf 50-45 (Madison McKee & Rilee Brinkman 13 pts each for O-G)