OTTAWA – Ottawa Glandorf’s girls basketball program might not have had the fairytale ending they envisioned, but the 2024-25 team left their mark on school history.
The Lady Titans combined for just one loss among their three high school programs, finishing with a total mark of 47-1.
“We set seven goals before the season and we accomplished six of them,” said head coach Troy Yant. “It didn’t end the way we wanted, but the girls have nothing to hang their heads about.”
Those goals as mentioned by Yant are achieved by very few programs in the state of Ohio each season: win the WBL, be undefeated at home, win a district title, get to the regional finals with a chance to win a state title, win 20+ games, and win a state championship.
During their 23-1 run this season the Lady Titans amassed 23 consecutive wins, one of the longest streaks in school history before falling to postseason rival Columbus Africentric in the regional title game.
“I’m not sure we ever got comfortable in what we were doing,” said Yant. “They shot really well and we didn’t.”
On their trip to the regional finals, the Titans defeated opponents by an average of 26.9 points per game and were victorious in every contest by double digits. Along the way the blue and gold defeated a plethora of top squads, including state finalists Columbus Grove (D6), and Fort Loramie (D7).
Seniors Carlie Brinkman, Kaitlyn Kimmet, Megan Horstman, and Kaelyn Grothause along with injured classmate Makenna Siefker combined to collect a 92-16 record that included four straight Western Buckeye League titles and a 35-1 conference mark. Next season the Titans will open with a streak of 24-straight regular season and 28-straight league wins.
Kimmet was named both first team WBL and Division V District 8 and was selected for the all-star game at the Elida Fieldhouse. Brinkman was joined on the D8 Honorable Mention list with junior teammate Liv Grothause.
Western Buckeye League honors saw junior Karsyn Erford tabbed as the Player of the Year, the 9th Titan to win the award under Yant, the conference’s coach of the year for the 10th time this season. In addition to the league honor, Erford was also selected as the Division V player of the year in District 8.
Liv Grothause, a 9.1 point per game scorer was selected second team WBL while Brinkman was picked third and joined by honorable mention selection Kaelyn Grothause.
Brinkman and Kaelyn Grothause combined for 43 made three point goals on the season and helped the Titans knock down 115 on the season to tie the 1999 squad for the fourth most in a single campaign in school history.
“The seniors are remarkable girls who have given so much to this program and have played their hearts out,” said Yant. “They didn’t play as a gateway to college basketball, but rather as a way to be on a team and do something worthwhile while in high school, and in the end they will be better people for it.”
Ottawa Glandorf will lose four starters from this seasons team but returns a solid core of contributors who will be asked to play new and bigger roles once the 2025/26 season kicks off in November.
“As an adult who has watched each of these girls grow up in the system, the pain is very real when you see the hurt in them,” said Yant after the regional finals loss to Africentric. “As someone who has had the opportunity to be part of their lives, I know they will take the best from these experiences and eventually be proud of the effort and achievements.”