COLUMBUS GROVE – Ottawa Glandorf survived their trip down Route 65 on Tuesday evening for a comeback 55-49 victory over rival Columbus Grove in a non-league tilt to remain unbeaten on the season.
Leading 12-11 heading into the second quarter after a big opening stanza from Kelsey Erford (7 points), and Chloee Glenn (4 points), Ottawa Glandorf upped their lead to 14-11 in at the start of the period 14-11 on a third basket by Glenn. Unfortunately for the Titans their score would be immediately equaled by the host Bulldogs Koryn Halker as the start of a huge run soon to come.
Columbus Grove’s zone defense caused the Titans issues on the offensive end and helped lead to a handful of run outs that led to baskets by the hosts. Following a Sage Clement three pointer with 4:08 that tied the contest at 18-18, the Bulldogs took the lead on the scoreboard at 20-18 with the last of six opening half points by junior Kenzie King.
Baskets from Erin Downing and Shay Schroeder pushed the Grove lead to 25-21 and helped the Bulldogs end the first half with a four point advantage of 27-23 as the buzzer rang out.
Sophomore Sage Clement opened the third quarter for Columbus Grove with a three point goal to key a Bulldog run and a 34-23 lead and forced Ottawa Glandorf head coach Troy Yant to take a timeout and regroup his troops.
Ottawa Glandorf finished the last five minutes of the third quarter on fire as they would utilize their own pressure defense and ability to quickly turn miscues into scores into baskets by Erin Kaufman, and Chloee Glenn to pull within two before a Kelsey Erford score tied the game at 34-34 with 2:32 remaining in the stanza.
Nearing the end of the third it was Glenn who struck from the post for the Titans as she deposited an OG rebound with :40 remaining for a 38-36 advantage.
Glenn, a sophomore averaging 13 points per game scored again in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter in nearly the exact same fashion to push the OG lead to 40-36.
While held nearly scoreless for three plus minutes, Columbus Grove fired back early in the quarter and even ahead of the Titans on a pair of three point goals by Koryn Halker. Halker pushed the Bulldogs into the lead for the first time with 4:47 at 43-42 on a score and foul but was unable to add the ensuing free throw to her teams tally.
On her way to a game and season high 21 point evening, Erford followed up teammate Katie Kaufman’s game tying free throw up with a basket of her own at 4:20 for a 45-43 lead.
Columbus Grove leading scorer Kenzie King tossed in her only basket of the second half with 3:10 remaining to keep the Bulldogs offense afloat and close at 47-45, but watched as the Titans finished on the scoreboard with a flurry of baskets to secure the victory.
Three Titans ended the evening in double figures as Kelsey Erford (21) and Erin Kaufman (11) were joined by Chloee Glenn with a career high 18 points on her way to her seventh straight double figure scoring output of the season.
Koryn Halker led the host team in scoring with 12 points and was followed by Sage Clement with 10.
OG (10-0) has now defeated the Bulldogs (5-5) for the 10th straight time overall, and the 11th time in 12 tries since the rivalry was renewed in 2010.
Next up for Columbus Grove is a Saturday afternoon trip to Ottoville for a 2:30 P.M. outing against the Big Green that will have the Bulldogs seeking to remain unbeaten in the Putnam County League.
Ottawa Glandorf finds themselves off until Thursday, January 7th as they travel to Lima to battle the Bath Wildcats in search of their 40th straight Western Buckeye League victory. Both games can be heard on WZOQ Radio
Scoring:
OG (55):
Kelsey Erford 21
Lily Haselman 2
Erin Kaufman 11
Katie Kaufman 3
Chloee Glenn 18
FT: 4/8
3PT: 2 (Erford 2)
TO: 11
Grove (49):
Koryn Halker 12
Jaylen Sautter 6
Brynn Fortman 5
Erin Downing 5
Sage Clement 10
Shay Schroeder 3
Kenzie King 8
FT: 4/7
3PT: 7 (Halker 2, Clement 2, King, Fortman, Schroeder)
TO: 21
JV: Columbus Grove 24-18