Ottoville’s defense dooms Lady Panthers

By Robin Eberle, The Delphos Herald
Published:  Monday, March 12, 2007 (1 year, 10 months ago)
Print

ELIDA — The stakes were high; 3,000-plus fans were proof of that. It was the girls Division IV regional finals Saturday evening at the Elida Fieldhouse. Two teams playing for the right to represent Northwest Ohio at 3 p.m. Friday at the Value City Arena in Columbus. Two teams with similar styles and records. Both teams looking to get out and go offensively and both using a relentless pressing and trapping defense. But there was one glaring difference between the two foes. Experience.

All of Ottoville’s five starters have had Final Four tournament experience, playing in the Division IV championship game in 2005. Balanced scoring and team defense has been the trademark of their highly-successful season. Saturday night was no exception. If you didn’t make the contest or hear the outcome, you would only have needed to drive through Ottoville any time after 10 p.m. Saturday night to figure out who won. Stock in Charmin tissue must be up at least 10 percent.

That experience was evident from the tipoff as the Lady Green went on to frustrate and force the young and talented Stryker Lady Panthers into 15 first-half turnovers and no points for the first seven minutes of the first stanza. Ottoville was all the while building a commanding 10-0 lead during that stretch and rolling to a 53-37 victory.

Ottoville and Stryker traded possessions for the first minute and a half. With Ottoville up 1-0, the Lady Green’s Krystal Markward gathered in an errant pass and laid in a basket at the 5:40 mark. An Erica Vorst layin extended the lead with three minutes remaining. Vorst added a free throw and a steal and layup from eventual leading scorer Courtney Schimmoeller and an Erika Kaufman stickback ballooned it to a 10-point margin at the 1:40 mark. Layups from Stryker’s Haley Meyers and Chelsea Henry soothed the Lady Panther contingent for a 10-4 deficit.

The second stanza was reserved for Ottoville’s version of instant offense in sophomore standout Tricia Honigford. After Kylie Myers put back a miss to pull Stryker within 10-6, Markward canned a 10-foot jumper at the 4-minute mark. It was time for the Honigford show, one for which she received a standing ovation. She scorched the nets for 10 huge points; her second 3-ball in just 2 1/2 minutes accounted for a 24-12 lead 1 1/2 minutes before halftime. Vorst’s two free throws with four seconds left kept the lead at 12, 26-14, at the half.

Physical play was the story of the third period as Stryker turned up the defensive intensity but couldn’t rattle the more experienced Lady Green. Both teams traded baskets for most of the stanza and a 3 at the end from the Myers kept their deficit at 12, 36-24.

A Schimmoeller driving layin and an old-fashioned 3-point play from Markward pushed the Ottoville advantage to 41-27 at the 6-minute mark. Molly Boetz’s turnaround jumper in the lane would get Stryker within 11 at 2:14 but free throws from Markward, Vorst and Schimmoeller would seal the deal.

Ottoville’s balanced scoring was paced by Schimmoeller (15 markers, 4 steals, 4 assists), followed by Vorst (10 points, 3 steals, 3 assists), Honigford 10 and Markward nine. Gina Beining, after spending much of the first half on the bench with two fouls, chipped in with five (6 rebounds, 2 blocked shots, 2 steals) and Erika Kaufman, turning in a stellar defensive performance, chipped in with four.

Stryker’s Molly Boetz scored 13 of her 15 team-high total in the second half, keeping the Lady Panthers in striking distance. Myers followed with 12.

Ottoville gets the opportunity to play the No. 1 team in Division IV as they battle Columbus Africentric.

0 Reader Responses to “Ottoville’s defense dooms Lady Panthers”

Complete the form below to leave a response of your own.