OTTAWA – Senior night for three outgoing Titans in their final home game proved to be a special night Thursday when Ottawa Glandorf downed visiting Defiance 67-26 to clinch a share of the Western Buckeye League title.
OG seniors Erin Kaufman, Kaydree Frey, and Chloe Schroeder were honored before the game and each provided moments in their final go round at the Supreme Court that contributed to the victory.
Chloe Schroeder opened the scoring for the Titans on their first possession by knocking down a triple from the wing just seconds into her first career start.
Defiance senior Maddie Bloomfield jumped on the scoreboard to cut the deficit to one on the Bulldogs first possession as she connected on a jumper with 7:25 to go in what would become a back and forth quarter on the scoreboard. OG raced out to an 8-2 lead on baskets by Erin Kaufman and a three from Lily Haselman to force a Defiance timeout with 6:33 left.
Olivia Moats, a 5’6 senior cut the Titans lead twice in the period with shots from behind the arc and combined with Mira Horvath to cut the lead at the buzzer to 19-16.
Unable to stop Erin Kaufman from nearly depositing double figure points in the first quarter, the Bulldogs held the future Malone star to four in the second while themselves pulling even on two occasions at 19-19 and 21-21 with baskets from Moats and Horvath early in the stanza.
Ottawa Glandorf raced out of the second tie of the period with an 8-2 run to take a 29-21 lead with a six point run by sophomore Katie Kaufman. Defiance again trimmed the lead to just four with 3:26 left in the period on a make that would prove to be their last field goal of the game from junior Elizabeth Hoffman.
Lily Haselman stretched the lead again for the Titans on a fast break basket and a trio of free throws from Myka Aldrich provided the final markers of a 36-25 halftime advantage.
With turnovers starting to mount on nearly every possession for Defiance, the Titans continued to build their lead through the third on run outs and short shots in the post against the shorter Bulldogs. Erin Kaufman and classmate Kaydree Frey accounted for 10 points in the period as the Titans upped their lead to 46-26 on the way to a 58-26 lead after scores by Carlie Brinkman and Kaitlyn Kimmet.
The only point of the second half for the Bulldogs came with 7:14 left in the third quarter of play when a front end free throw fell through the net from the hands of Elizabeth Hoffman.
OG finished off career highs by Frey and Erin Kaufman of six and 25 respectively in the second half while closing out a 67-26 victory, the 100th career home win for head coach Troy Yant.
Defiance (2-20, 1-8) was led by Olivia Moats 11 points and will begin their tournament run on February 17th, at 7:30 P.M. when they travel to Hamler to battle Bryan.
Ottawa Glandorf (15-7) finishes off their fourth shared Western Buckeye League title and 13th overall run with an 8-1 record in league play and will head to Middle Point next Thursday for a 5:30 P.M. first round date with Fostoria.
Erin Kaufman led all scorers with 25 and ran her career total to 1,027 points after breaking the 1,000 point barrier on the road at Archbold during a Tuesday night win.
“I was a little bit upset by our defensive focus in the first half but glad that our seniors were able to play for an extended time together. I thought Erin played very well and our defensive effort was excellent in the second half” said Titan boss Troy Yant.
Scoring:
OG (67):
Chloe Schroeder 3
Lily Haselman 9
Myka Aldrich 3
Carlie Brinkman 5
Kaitlyn Kimmet 4
Erin Kaufman 25
Katie Kaufman 12
Kaydree Frey 6
FT: 5/8
3PT: 3 (Schroeder, Haselman, C. Brinkman)
TO: 10
Defiance (26):
Olivia Moats 11
Emily Wahl 2
Maddie Bloomfield 2
Elizabeth Hoffman 3
Mira Horvath 6
Sam Hoehnberger 2
FT: 1/6
3PT: 3 (Moats 3)
TO: 27
JV: 60-17 OG (Ashlynn Siefker 18 pts)