Girls Basketball: Ottawa-Glandorf knocks off Fort Loramie in battle of unbeatens

Karsyn Erford scored 18 points in Ottawa-Glandorfs 51-41 win over Fort Loramie on Saturday.

Chris Howell | The Lima News/File photo FORT LORAMIE Ottawa Glandorfs girls basketball roster might be full of Duke mens basketball fans but on Saturday afternoon in Fort Loramie, the team paid homage to a North Carolina legend with its performance.

Junior Karsyn Erford did her best impression of the Michael Jordan flu game from the 1997 NBA Finals as she scored 18 points to help the Titans (12-0) secure a 51-41 road victory over Fort Loramie.

I thought it was a gut check for the girls today, O-G coach Troy Yant said following the win.

We tried to help them the best we could by changing sub patterns and playing half-court defense to help them from playing exhausted.

Fort Loramie, who was unbeaten in its previous 27 outings, struggled to find points against O-Gs defensive pressure in the first half and was outscored 22-17.

With their defensive pressure, we couldnt get into our offense at all, Fort Loramie coach Carla Siegel said.

Seniors Avery Brandewie and Victoria Mescher led the way for the Redskins (12-1), combining for 27 points, 18 of which came from Brandewie.

I thought both of my players (Brandewie and Mescher) had to work hard to get shots, Siegel said.

O-G plays really well on the defensive end.

Erford, Ottawa Glandorfs leading scorer on the season at 15 points per game, opened up the game by knocking down a triple.

With time winding down in the first quarter, the junior guard struck again from deep as the buzzer sounded, giving the Titans a 14-7 lead.

I felt Erford started strong and I was happy with our second-half defense on her, but then she found open teammates, Siegel said.

Ottawa-Glandorf opened the third with a turnover and was forced to watch as Brandewie went on a solo five-point run in the first 90 seconds to cut the lead to 24-22.

O-Gs open teammates, as previously referenced by Siegel, responded in spades in the third as sisters Liv and Kaelyn Grothause took over the scoring with help from senior forward Kaitlyn Kimmet.

Kaelyn Grothause, playing in just her sixth game of the year after knee surgery in November, downed a three-point goal and a fast break bucket while helping Liv Grothause and Kimmet push the lead to 39-29 heading to the fourth.

However, Fort Loramies sister act of Mylee and Maddie Shatto combined for eight of the teams 14 fourth-quarter points to help keep the game within striking distance.

The two teams combined for 45 turnovers against the opponents heavy-pressure defense.

The Redskins connected on just 6 of 14 from the free throw line while the Titans ended 14 of 16.

We had too many turnovers and too many missed free throws, Siegel said.

Obviously O-G played better than we did today and you cant win big games with those issues.

Karsyn Erford and Avery Brandewie led all scorers with 18 each while Kaelyn Grothause joined the duo in double figures with a season-high 10 points.

Karsyn and Kaitlyn held their own against two pretty good players, Yant said.

Kaelyn responded to being elevated to the starting lineup and we played more physical against a team that is usually the more physical squad.

Scoring OTTAWA-GLANDORF Liv Grothause 9 Karsyn Erford 18 Carlie Brinkman 4 Madison McKee 2 Kaelyn Grothause 10 Kaitlyn Kimmet 8.

FT: 14/16 3PT: 3 (Erford 2, K.

Grothause) TO: 24 FORT LORAMIE Mylee Shatto 7 Victoria Mescher 9 Maddie Shatto 7 Avery Brandewie 18 FT: 6/14 3PT: 1 (Brandewie) TO: 21 Michael Hirn wrote this story for LimaScores.com.

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