LEXINGTON – Ottawa Glandorf’s season came to an end on Friday night in Lexington as the Titans fell in overtime to #6 ranked Worthington Christian 46-43.
Similar to their district semifinal victory over Delphos Jefferson the Titans fell behind early but found themselves in a position to pull out a victory in the waning moments of the contest.
Trailing 28-24 entering the fourth period the blue and gold pulled within a point on a run out basket by junior Lily Haselman at 34-33 with 1:52 remaining and even at 35-35 on a make by Erin Kaufman.
Freshman standout Kaitlyn Kimmet finished off her second straight career high evening to give Ottawa Glandorf their first lead of the quarter 38-35 by knocking down a wing triple. Worthington Christian moved the ball down the floor to the opposite end and utilized a deep triple as time expired from Jamie Custer to send the contest into an overtime period.
In the extra frame the two teams traded the lead and baskets through the first three minutes until an Erin Kaufman and-one play pushed the Titans ahead 43-42 with 1:01 showing on the Minutemen scoreboard.
Unfortunately for Ottawa Glandorf the Warriors jumped right back into the lead on their ensuing possession on a back door layup by junior Meghan Mayotte to pull in front 44-43 with :40 remaining. Jamie Custer added a catch and run basket following a Titan turnover with seconds remaining to give Worthington Christian a 46-43 victory.
“I couldn’t be prouder of this team, they gave it their all and got better every game, every game they played their butts off. The future of Lady Titans basketball is bright” opined Titan boss Troy Yant on his squad that was forced to repeatedly change lineups this season after being hit hard by injuries throughout the season.
Warrior junior sharpshooter Megan Weakley knocked down two triples in the first half while senior teammate Blessing King opened the first stanza with seven points and later added a 4/6 performance from the free throw line with the game in the balance as part of another double double performance of 11 points and 14 caroms.
Ottawa Glandorf was led in scoring for the 18th time this season by Erin Kaufman who finished her Titan career with 23 markers for her third straight 20+ point game while also snagging a team high 12 boards.
“I felt Erin did everything she could motivating her teammates and keeping the game close until we were able to make a run. Kaitlyn Kimmet hit a few shots for us and we got some stops to claw back into the game and ultimately take the lead. Worthington Christian is a great shooting team with a bit more experience and that experience helped them tonight” said Yant after the contest.
OG finishes Yant’s 10th season with a 20-8 record while the Warriors move to 26-2 with their 14th straight victory and will await the winner of Saturday afternoon’s battle between Waynesdale and Warrensville Heights to see who they will take on next Thursday in the State Semifinals in Dayton.
Scoring:
Worthington Christian (46):
Megan Weakley 6
Jamie Custer 12
Jaeda Tagoe 5
Blessing King 11
Meghan Mayotte 12
FG: 17/42
3PT: 5/20 (Weakley 3, Custer, Tagoe)
FT: 7/10
REB: 26
TO: 11
OG (43):
Lily Haselman 3
Myka Aldrich 4
Kaitlyn Kimmet 9
Erin Kaufman 23
Katie Kaufman 4
FG: 15/38
3PT: 3/10 (Kimmet 3)
FT: 10/12
REB: 26
TO: 12