Ottoville girls earn 15th win of season

By Brooke Apple, bapple
Published:  Thursday, January 24, 2008 (10 months ago)
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OTTOVILLE — Ottoville’s girls cagers played host to the Lady Bulldogs of Elida at L.W. Heckman Gymnasium Tuesday night.
The Lady Big Green was looking to keep its 1-loss record until tournament time and did so, conquering the Bulldogs 62-43.
As has been their trend all season, the Big Green (15-1; ranked sixth in Division IV) came out strong at the start of the game, scoring 20 points in the first quarter. With the Bulldogs in a man-to-man defense, the Big Green went inside to Gina Beining (8 points in the quarter, 17 overall). Elida struggled to get much started, committing 12 of their 17 turnovers the first half. When the Bulldogs changed to a zone, the Big Green worked the ball around to their variety of scorers. Tricia Honigford converted seven points for the Big Green in the canto as they led 20-9 after one.
“(We) played against a good team that came out on fire. We didn’t finish on our shots. We started in a man-to-man and then had to switch it up to a zone,” stated Elida coach Steve Fersch.
The Bulldogs still struggled to put the ball in the hoop in the second quarter, managing six points to the Big Green’s 14. Brittany Pohlman (13 markers) came up with some steals that led to breakaways, as well as distributing the ball to her teammates for some good looks after turnovers. Ottoville denied the Bulldogs any chance at momentum and took a 34-15 halftime lead.
“We did a nice job of sharing the ball, which has done well with the last 10 games. We have many different people that can score and have been very unselfish. We are hitting the open person and once our younger kids get more experience, we will get better,” stated Ottoville coach Dave Kleman.
Elida came out a little bit stronger in the third quarter as they started playing a lot more even with the Big Green. They finally got some of that momentum they were looking for in the first half, forcing some turnovers and missed shots that led to rebounds. Haley Brown led the Bulldogs with 10 points; Kylie Prince came up with some key rebounds, especially the second half, that she or a teammate converted for a basket. Krystal Markward started working for Ottoville, tallying four of her nine points in the period to help the Big Green grab a lead of 44-28 at the end of the period.
“We played a better second half as we started playing more even with them. We need to play better defense and finish more on the offensive end,” added Fersch.
The final quarter was not dominated by one team as the scoring only differed by three points. Tasha Kaufman started playing well for the Big Green on drives and outside shots and Beining kept working hard underneath, finishing with 12 rebounds. That was key as it seemed Elida was getting many second and third shots. Shalamar Howell (5 boards) kept fighting on the glass for the Bulldogs but it was far too late to make a difference.
“If they decide to cover our outside, we will work the ball into Gina, who did a nice job of scoring. I was pleased defensively but as a coach, we want it to be perfect and that will not always happen. Elida is a quick team and it was a good opportunity for us to face a quick team,” added Kleman.
The Bulldogs (5-11) take on Celina Thursday at Celina. Ottoville (15-1) battles Leipsic on Saturday (6 p.m. JV start).
In JV action, the Big Green prevailed in double-overtime 43-38. They was led in scoring by Kari Beining (19); the Bulldogs’ Julie Stirn and Amber Saddler had 10 each.
VARSITY
ELIDA (43)
Kylie Prince 1-1-4, Chelsea Mathias 2-2-6, Lindsay Peters 0-1-1, Chelsy Simpson 2-4-8, Haley Brown 5-0-10, Charity Crowe 1-1-3, Kayla Duffy 0-0-0, Shalamar Howell 2-1-5, Amber Saddler 0-0-0, Sierra Lohr 1-2-4, Heather Jacobs 1-0-2, Angela Moening 0-0-0. Totals 15-12/15-43.
OTTOVILLE (62)
Brittany Pohlman 5-3-13, Chelsea Ditto 0-2-2, Tricia Honigford 2-3-8, Krystal Markward 4-0-9, Janelle Becker 1-0-2, Jill Hohlbein 2-0-4, Tasha Kaufman 3-1-7, Amy Hohlbein 0-0-0, Gina Beining 8-1-17, Brittany Beining 0-0-0, Shayla Siefker 0-0-0. Totals 25-10/12-62.
Scores by Quarters:
Elida    9    6    13    15 - 43
Ottoville    20    14    10    18 - 62
Three-point goals: Elida, Prince; Ottoville, Honigford, Markward.
JUNIOR VARSITY
ELIDA (38)
Lindsay Peters 0-0-0, Asia Sumpter 0-0-0, Kayla Smith 0-0-0, Angela Moening 1-1-3, Julie Stirn 4-2-10, Charity Crowe 3-2-9, Kayla Duffy 2-0-4, Kaitlin Craig 0-0-0, Amber Saddler 5-0-10, Lindsay Fraley 1-0-2. Totals 16-5-38.
OTTOVILLE (43)
Gayle Rayman 0-0-0, Molly Maag 0-0-0, Shelby Roney 0-1-1, Kari Beining 6-6-19, Shayla Siefker 0-1-1, Melanie Honigford 2-0-4, Amber Horstman 1-0-2, Erin Hohlbein 2-2-6, Tasha Kaufman 2-0-4, Sammy Modica 2-0-4, Melissa Schnipke 1-0-2. Totals 16-10-43.
Score by Quarters:
Elida    5    7      4     16   (6)    (0) - 38
Ottoville    9   10       9      4   (6)    (5) - 43
Three-point goals: Elida, Crowe; Ottoville, K. Beining.

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