DEFIANCE – Ottawa Glandorf kicked off their season Thursday night by racing out to a 25-0 lead in the first quarter en route to a 73-19 victory over host Defiance.
“I thought tonight was a great first night of basketball for us,” said Titan head coach Troy Yant. “We got great production from our starters and excellent production off the bench.”
O-G wasted no time getting into the scoring column in the first quarter as junior guard Karsyn Erford splashed down her first attempted shot of the season just :08 seconds in. Erford’s teammates Liv Grothause, and Carlie Brinkman joined the parade of makes for the Titans and forced a quick Bulldog timeout at 6:14 with a 10-0 lead.
Sophomore post Madison McKee pushed the visitors advantage to 25-0 with 2:40 on the clock with her first varsity hoop of the season. Defiance committed 13 first quarter turnovers and found themselves unable to dent the home scoreboard until a free throw from Jamie Rollins cut the lead to 25-1 with 2:07 left.
Rollins, a junior point guard would lead the Bulldogs in scoring on the night with seven points. Defiance (1-4, 1-1) was outscored 27-6 in the first period by the Titans.
Ottawa Glandorf continued to add to their advantage in the second quarter behind the trio of Grothause, Erford, and Brinkman who combined for 14 of the teams 25 markers before the half on the way to a 52-7 score.
Freshman guard Leah Escamilla, playing in her first varsity minutes took to the Titans gameplan quickly as she netted eight of her 10 points on the night in the second stanza.
With the running clock in effect in the second half and their starters mostly confined to the bench, the Titans amassed quarters of nine and 12 the rest of the way but saw their scorebook balanced with scoring from 10 girls.
Escamilla wasn’t the only member of her freshman class to earn her first varsity points on the evening, she was joined by classmate Rilee Brinkman who cashed in on three markers for six points in the game.
“I was very impressed with our two freshmen,” said Yant. “Leah and Rilee combined for 16 points in their first high school varsity game.”
Carlie Brinkman led the way for O-G (1-0, 1-0) with 15 points and was joined in double figures by three teammates. Liv Grothause notched a career high 13 while Karsyn Erford ended with 11 to go along with Escamilla’s 10.
Next up for Defiance is a home date against Tinora. The Titans are back in action on Saturday as they travel to Fairview for an early afternoon non-conference tilt.
Ottawa Glandorf’s victory is their 20th straight Western Buckeye League win and their 16th in a row over Defiance.
Scoring:
O-G (73):
Liv Grothause 13
Karsyn Erford 11
Carlie Brinkman 15
Megan Horstman 3
Madison McKee 5
Ella White 2
Calverie Fox 2
Kaitlyn Kimmet 6
Leah Escamilla 10
Rilee Brinkman 6
3PT: 5 (C. Brinkman 3, Erford, Horstman)
FT: 4/10
TO: 10
Defiance (19):
Isabella Rowlinson 3
Samantha Hohenberger 5
Jamie Rollins 7
Alexandria Fernandez 2
Anjelica Ceballos 2
3PT: 1 (Rowlinson)
FT: 4/10
TO: 38
JV: O-G 49-17 (Madison McKee 13 points)