O-G opens season by topping Black Knights

OTTAWA --One of the latest teams in Ohio to play its first game, Ottawa-Glandorf finally got going Thursday. It sure wasn't the best basketball the Titans will play this season, but O-G impressed. The Titans forced 37 Van Buren turnovers, topping the Black Knights, 63-35 in non-league action. "I think the first half you saw the difference between this being their fourth game and us being opening night," Ottawa-Glandorf coach Troy Yant said. "Us having two people out, you could see we were a little discombobulated at times." Ottawa-Glandorf (1-0) was led by seniors Katie Kaufman and Myka Aldrich. Kaufman tallied a career-high 18 points and added 10 rebounds for the double-double. "It is definitely different having two seniors on the team," Kaufman said. "The last couple years, we've had more than two. I came into the season knowing that in order to have a strong season, I needed to step up a little more. I think this game was a good start." Aldrich tallied 13 points and seven rebounds for the Titans. "They both did a great job," Yant said. "We only have two seniors and on a night like this when things weren't working real well, it is nice to have those guys contribute points." O-G trailed early in the second quarter before bouncing back to lead by just five points at halftime, 28-23. The second half belonged to the Titans. Scores by Kaitlyn Kimmet and Carlie Brinkman were followed by two free throws from Kaufman to make it 34-23. Brooklyn Wilkin scored on the other end for Van Buren (1-3), but it proved to be the Black Knights' only field goal of the quarter. It was just a 37-27 advantage for the Titans, but Ottawa-Glandorf scored the final 10 points of the quarter over the last 3:15 to double its lead. Brinkman hit a jumper, Maddie Liebrecht nailed two free throws, Kaufman tallied consecutive buckets, and Alivia Grothause's basket at the buzzer pushed O-G up 47-27 after three quarters. "I thought the girls did a pretty good job coming out at halftime and settling down," Yant said. "We got some steals and got some turnovers and were able to do what we wanted to do." Van Buren amassed 19 turnovers in the first half and nine more in the third quarter. "I think they adjusted their press a little bit," Van Buren coach Jaden Tabler said. "We figured they would. I just think we were not the aggressor in the third quarter. I thought we were a little slower." Ottawa-Glandorf put it in cruise control the rest of the way. "We knew we had to take care of the ball," Tabler said. "We expected some pressure. It is something we've been fighting through early in the season - keeping our poise when somebody is up in our face. I thought in the first half we handled it really well." Despite turnover woes early, Van Buren played well. The Titans jumped out to a 6-2 lead, but the Black Knights answered with an 8-2 run to go up 10-8. A score by Anna Durliat in the second quarter gave VB a 12-10 lead. The game was tied at 14 before the Titans scored seven straight to open a 21-14 edge. The Black Knights hung around as Maddie Hudock hit a 3 to stay within 21-17. "In the first half, we were starting to trap a little bit and they were breaking the trap and getting some easy baskets," Yant said. "With having a young team, some of that stuff they haven't seen on tape to see why we teach what we teach and what the effect is." Later, Brooklyn Wilkin's tally near the buzzer sliced the Ottawa-Glandorf halftime lead to 28-23. Wilkin finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds in just her fourth career game. "We are definitely easing her into a really big role for us," Tabler said. "As a freshman, we're trying not to overwhelm her, but she understands she's gifted and she has a lot of talent." The Black Knights have faced some of the heavyweights of northwest Ohio already this season. Upper Sandusky was a district finalist last season, Fostoria won 20 games, and Toledo Christian along with Ottawa-Glandorf are perennial top-5 teams that have state title aspirations this year. "We picked this schedule," Tabler said. "We want to play good teams. If we want to take our program to the next level, we have to beat these teams and go compete. We're 1-3, but we're not really worried about our record. "We are worried about winning the next game." Brinkman finished with eight points for the Titans, who committed 24 turnovers themselves. Savannah Recker and Liebrecht each finished with seven points for O-G. "Our defense definitely does help," Kaufman said. "It is not where it needs to be right now and our offense could use some work. Hopefully with more practice and more games, we get more experience and get both sides of the floor cleaned up." Van Buren (1-3) Kayla Fisher 0 0-0 0, Maddie Houck 1 0-0 3, Anna Durliat 2 0-0 4, Easton Wymer 0 0-0 0, Brylee Ponn 2 2-4 6, Brooklyn Wilkin 10 0-2 20, Kami Bowman 0 0-2 0, Ashlee Dietrick 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 16-39--2-8--35 Ottawa-Glandorf (1-0) Carlie Brinkman 3 2-2 8, Megan Horstman 1 0-0 3, Katie Kaufman 7 4-4 18, Myka Aldrich 6 1-2 13, Kaitlyn Kimmet 1 0-2 2, Savannah Recker 2 1-2 7, Madie Liebrecht 2 2-6 7, Alivia Grothause 1 1-2 3, Gracie Lammers 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 24-57--11-20--63. Van Buren 10&emsp;13&emsp;4&emsp;8 - 35Ottawa-Glandorf 9&emsp;19&emsp;19&emsp;16 - 63 3-point goals: Van Buren 1-7 (Hudock); Ottawa-Glandorf 4-13 ((Recker 2, Horstman, Liebrecht) REBOUNDS: Van Buren 24 (Wilkin 10); Ottawa-Glandorf 39 (Kaufman 10). TURNOVERS: Van Buren 37; Ottawa-Glandorf 24.