ELIDA – Ottawa Glandorf survived a final three point attempt from Delphos Jefferson missing the mark on Saturday afternoon in Elida to down the Wildcats 47-45.
Trailing for most of the contest, the Titans (23-2) Carlie Brinkman split a pair of free throws with 6.6 seconds grabbed a two-point advantage and hustled down the Elida Fieldhouse court to prevent a potential game winning shot.
Hobbled and hampered by an ankle injury, Jefferson senior Lyv Lindeman raced across the midcourt line before sending a pass into the corner to teammate Carolyn Mueller that saw a quick catch and shoot careen off the top of the rim as time expired.
Despite leading 2-0 in the first minute plus of the game on a Katie Kaufman basket, the Titans trailed most of the contest thanks to the sharp and timely shooting of their opponent. OG tied the game at 28-28 in the third quarter on a triple by junior Megan Horstman and took a short lived lead at 34-32 with two minutes left on a Kaufman make but were unable to stay in front before the stoppage thanks to a shot from Lindeman that raced through the net.
Lindeman, the future Tiffin Dragon and Delphos Jefferson all-time leading scorer did everything she could on the afternoon to get the Wildcats past the Titans and finished with 33 points and a 9/12 performance from the free throw line. Seconds before the halftime break just after an OG steal and score, Lindeman pushed the NWC champions to a 24-20 advantage as she connected with a heave from just beyond half court at the buzzer.
Katie Kaufman, limited to just five points in the first half hit for a dozen points in the final 16 minutes of play while snagging a game high 14 rebounds, working mostly against Jefferson senior Lauren French (2 points, 11 rebounds) to secure the paint. Kaufman helped the Titans to an 18-7 offensive rebounding advantage with seven of her own but also tossed away a trio of shots in the paint during the outing.
Jefferson (21-4) sees their third straight campaign come to an end inside the Fieldhouse to Ottawa Glandorf and says goodbye to a quartet of seniors who finished with four straight NWC crowns.
Ottawa Glandorf improves to 18-2 in their last 20 games in Elida with their fifth straight district championship. Next up for the Titans is a Thursday night 8pm date with Liberty Center, a team they defeated in the same round in the same building last season 48-29.
Sophomore Karsyn Erford added 16 points for the Titans to go along with a trio of steals, four rebounds, and three assists.
Scoring:
OG (47):
Karsyn Erford 16
Liv Grothause 2
Carlie Brinkman 5
Megan Horstman 3
Katie Kaufman 17
Kaitlyn Kimmet 2
FT: 3/14
3PT: 2/12 (Erford, Horstman)
REB: 34 (Kaufman 14)
TO: 10
Jefferson (45):
Madison Burris 5
Lyv Lindeman 33
Claire Brinkman 2
Carolyn Mueller 3
Lauren French 2
FT: 11/14
3PT: 6/13 (Lindeman 4, Mueller, Burris)
REB: 26 (French 11)
TO: 15