O-G's D in fine form against Columbus Grove

OTTAWA – Ottawa-Glandorf's offense isn't exactly operating at a high level just yet. That's understandable. Losing a star player like Chloee Glenn to injury would disrupt anyone's plans. But Thursday night against Columbus Grove, the Titans defense looked every bit like the team that advanced to the Division III state final last spring. Erin Kaufman scored 11 points and had five rebounds, both team-highs as O-G rolled past the Bulldogs, 43-22 in Ottawa. The Titans, who lost to Convoy Crestview 51-45 on Tuesday, rebounded by limiting Grove to just 9 of 36 shooting from the field. The Bulldogs managed just 9 first-half points. "Coming off the Crestview loss, we needed a big win, and the girls responded," said O-G coach Troy Yant after the Titans improved to 7-2. "I think (O-G assistant) coach (Scott) Maag summed it up: the defense took a big step forward today." Grove coach Brian Schroeder said he knew Thursday would be challenging for his offense. "Just offensively, we couldn't function," Schroeder said. "That's a credit to their length and their athleticism and their physicality, because, we couldn't get anything going all night. That's just an elite defensive team, and we weren't ready for that kind of pressure tonight." But the Bulldogs did stifle O-G a bit in the first half. Kaufman picked up two fouls, and O-G had just two field goals through the game's first six minutes. "I think their gameplan was just to double the post players, and they did a good job of that early on, and it really frustrated Erin," Yant said. "She was struggling to get open." "We've still got some growing pains," Yant said. "Trying to replace Chloee Glenn isn't easy. You kind of see that, especially when Erin goes to the bench. There's not really that vocal leader out there that wants to generate offense and things." Not only did O-G struggle to make shots early, it had problems holding on to the ball. The Titans had seven first-quarter turnovers. Things started to pick up for the Titans after that. While O-G wasn't able to do much inside, the outside shots started falling. Two 3s from Emma Brinkman, and one each from Kaelyn Grotehouse and Chloe Schroeder – Schroeder's came just before the first-half buzzer – created a cushion for the Titans. They led 23-9 at the break. O-G controlled the second half, outscoring the Bulldogs 20-13. Katie Kaufman finished with eight points, and Brinkman and Maggie Verhoff had six each. But again, the Titans defense was the key. It limited Columbus Grove standout Kenzie King to nine points, and just 3 of 11 shooting. "I thought Maggie and Emma both played really well, especially in periods when Erin was in a little bit of foul trouble," Yant said. "Defensively, I thought Lily (Haselman) and Myka (Aldrich) did a really good job on (King)." Schroeder agreed. "They did a good job on Kenzie tonight, really making life hard on her," he said. "She didn't get many good looks." Grove (8-3) will be back in action Tuesday, when it travels to Findlay to play Liberty-Benton. So things don't get any easier. "When you schedule non-league games like this," Schroeder said, "you do it, mindful of preparing you for your league games and tournaments." As for O-G, it's off for a week; it hosts St. Mary in a Western Buckeye League matchup Jan. 6. That gives Yant and the Titans time to keep working on their offense. "We spent a lot of time this summer preparing for a two-post offense, with two very good offensive players," Yant said. "I think Katie can get there, but Katie hasn't had the experience Chloee has had playing in these kind of games. So we've had to tweak some things." That's not easy, but having a defense like O-G's sure helps. COLUMBUS GROVE (8-3) King 3-0—9; Schroeder 2-0—5; Ridenour 2-0—4; Sautter 1-0—2; Fortman 1-0—2. TOTALS: 9-0-22. OTTAWA-GLANDORF (7-2) E. Kaufman 5-0—11; K. Kaufman 4-0—8; Brinkman 2-0—6; Verhoff 3-0—6; Aldrich 2-0—4; Grotehouse 1-0—3; Schroeder 1-0—3; Frey 1-0—2. TOTALS: 19-0—42. Columbus Grove &emsp;&emsp;5 &emsp;&emsp;4 &emsp;&emsp;6 &emsp;&emsp;7 – 22 Ottawa-Glandorf &emsp;&emsp;9 &emsp;&emsp;14 &emsp;&emsp;8 &emsp;&emsp;12 –43 FIELD GOALS: Columbus Grove 9-36; Ottawa-Glandorf 19-40 3-POINT GOALS: Columbus Grove 4-19 (King 3, Schroeder); Ottawa-Glandorf 5-16 (Brinkman 2, Kaufman, Grotehouse, Schroeder). FOUL SHOTS: Columbus Grove 0-2; Ottawa-Glandorf 0-3. REBOUNDS: Columbus Grove 17 (King 5, Auchmuty 5); Ottawa-Glandorf 23 (E. Kaufman 5) TURNOVERS: Columbus Grove 19; Ottawa-Glandorf 15. JV: Ottawa-Glandorf 41-15.