OTTAWA – 11 Titans scored on Saturday afternoon at Robert J. Hermiller Gymnasium as Ottawa Glandorf clinched their spot in the next round with a 63-20 defeat of visiting Elmwood.
Freshman guard Gracie Lammers scored nine of the Titans 13 fourth quarter points to finish tied as the game’s leading scorer with Karsyn Erford and nearly doubled her point total of 10 on the season in doing so.
OG (21-2) raced out to an early 8-0 advantage behind Elmwood turnovers and fast break baskets from Erford, Carlie Brinkman, and Myka Aldrich who combined to notch 20 points in the opening stanza.
Elmwood’s first basket of the game came from sophomore Selina Deal with 6:10 remaining in the first. Unfortunately for the Royals their turn scoring would be short lived in the half as a basket with :42 to go by sub Janessa Childress would be their last of the half.
“I thought the girls came in focused and ready to set the tone with our defense” said Titan head coach Troy Yant. “The defense created offense and we made our layups early which led to a big first half lead that allowed us to rest some players and get others much needed tournament experience.”
For most teams 23 points in a quarter would be enough, but Ottawa Glandorf topped themselves in the second period by outscoring their guests 25-0 to take a 48-8 lead into the halftime break.
Eight different Titans scored in the stanza including Liv Grothause, a sophomore guard who found herself on the end of full court passes from teammates for six and a five point run by junior guard Megan Horstman.
The second half saw a much different scoring pace as OG notched just a pair of free throws from Grothause in the third and a pair of baskets by Greta Liebrecht and Madison McKee to secure the victory.
The Royals see their first season as members of the Blanchard Valley Conference end with a 3-20 record. Elmwood was led by Izzy Courtney and Selina Deal who each scored six points on the afternoon.
Ottawa Glandorf finishes the home portion of their 23-24 schedule with a 10-2 mark and moves on to Elida on Thursday at 6pm to face the Parkway Panthers in game one of the district semifinals.
Seniors Katie Kaufman and Myka Aldrich each ended their final home game at the Supreme Court with eight points and were joined by Grothause.
“I was glad to see the girls focused and ready to play, sometimes you’re not sure how your team will come out when you open the tournament and you’re playing in a game you’re heavily favored in” finished Yant.
Scoring:
OG (63):
Liv Grothause 8
Karsyn Erford 9
Carlie Brinkman 6
Gracie Lammers 9
Megan Horstman 5
Savannah Recker 2
Madison McKee 3
Katie Kaufman 8
Myka Aldrich 8
Kaitlyn Kimmet 3
Greta Liebrecht 2
FT: 12/18
3PT: 2 (Lammers, Horstman)
TO: 11
Elmwood (20):
Izzy Courtney 6
Selina Deal 6
McKenzie Laird 2
Molly Barringer 2
Addi Hoffman 2
Janessa Childress 2
FT: 4/7
3PT: 2 (Courtney 2)
TO: 28