Katie Kaufman and the Ottawa-Glandorf Titans secured the WBL outright, while Madison Unverferth and the Kalida Wildcats clinched a share of the PCL title.
Nate Reynolds | The Lima News
Most area conferences crowned their girls basketball champions on Thursday night.
Here’s a rundown of who came out on top, while reviewing key points in their seasons.
Western Buckeye League — Ottawa-Glandorf 20-2, 9-0 WBL
Some would say there was never a doubt about this outcome. The only team that truly stood in the way of Ottawa-Glandorf’s 11th outright WBL Championship and 15th overall, was Bath, who the Titans beat 61-46 on Jan. 18.
O-G trailed 23-22 at halftime in that matchup before outscoring Bath 22-8 in the third quarter. It was the Titans’ fifth WBL victory and the moment where they took sole possession of first place in the standings.
Sophomore guard Karsyn Erford recognized the impact that game had on the Titans’ WBL title chances.
“We knew going into the game this was one of the biggest games for the WBL,” she said. “We were both undefeated (in league games), and one of us was going to come out on top. We worked really hard to get that job done because we want that title for the WBL.”
Ottawa-Glandorf’s non-league schedule provided them with signature wins over Liberty-Benton on Dec. 12 (43-37) and Toledo Christian on Dec. 16 (48-42), and two losses to a 20-win Fort Loramie team and Toledo Central Catholic, both by one possession.
The Titans won 10-straight games to start the season, responded to its loss to Fort Loramie by winning six games in a row and are currently on a four-game winning streak heading into the postseason.
Northwest Conference — Delphos Jefferson 19-3, 7-1 NWC
For Delphos Jefferson, this one may be a little bittersweet.
After winning the conference outright the past two seasons, the Wildcats have to share this one with rival Crestview (20-2, 7-1 NWC).
The two teams met on Jan. 25, and the Knights took control in the second half, handing Delphos Jefferson its first league loss since the 2020-21 season.
Delphos Jefferson coach Denise Lindeman acknowledged that her team left it all out on the floor that night against a great team.
“Our girls gave everything they had,” she said. “I thought their effort was phenomenal. They’re (Crestview is) a great team. Cali Gregory is awesome, then you add in Myia Etzler and they’re very difficult to stop.”
However, Crestview’s 45-40 loss to Allen East on Jan 18 kept the Wildcats in the running along with Columbus Grove (16-5, 6-2 NWC).
Delphos Jefferson broke a three-way tie at the top of the standings with a win over the Bulldogs on Thursday night.
It’s the fourth straight time that the Wildcats claimed at least a share of the conference title.
Lindeman admitted after the win over Columbus Grove that she wasn’t sure that a four-peat was in the cards for her team.
“It’s unbelievable. If you would have told me at the beginning of the year that we’re going to have a four-peat, I wasn’t sure,” she said. “But the dedication, the hard work and the drive they have is unbelievable.”
Northwest Central Conference — Perry 15-6, 7-1 NWCC
In a crowded race at the top of the NWCC standings, Perry emerged as the sole victor.
Thursday night’s 39-24 win over Ridgedale clinched the Commodores’ first outright title since 2006, according to the conference’s website.
Balance has been the key to Perry’s journey back to the top. No player on the roster averages double figures in scoring, but three contribute over nine points per game.
Both Khaliah Luster and Lexanna Lee average 9.7 points, followed closely by Zyasija Scott with 9.6 points.
Luster scored 17 points in the championship-clinching win over Ridgedale.
Perry’s best stretch of the season was a six-game winning streak in late January. Elgin handed the Commodores its lone conference loss 53-40 on Feb. 8.
Putnam County League — Ottoville 17-5, 6-1 PCL; Kalida 16-6, 6-1 PCL; Columbus Grove 16-5, 5-1 PCL
Ottoville and Kalida are locked in. Columbus Grove has the opportunity to join them in a three-way split for the PCL title if it can beat Pandora-Gilboa on Saturday.
For Ottoville in particular, it’s been a true bounce-back season after going 12-12 last year and 11-14 the year prior.
At the turn of the new year, Ottoville owned a record of 8-2 with a pair of PCL wins, along with non-league victories over Minster and Coldwater.
On Jan. 4, Kalida handed the Big Green its lone PCL loss in a one-point game, 30-29. Ottoville responded to that adversity with a 50-43 win against Columbus Grove two days later.
It was a game that reminded Ottoville that the race for the PCL crown wasn’t over.
“It definitely gives us another shot at the PCL, after our loss against Kalida,” said Ottoville’s Carly Thorbahn after the win over Columbus Grove. “We just had to come back hard into practice yesterday, and we knew what we wanted and what our goal is and what we needed to work for as a team.”
Despite its loss to Ottoville, Columbus Grove ran the table in its Putnam County League schedule before Saturday’s matchup with Pandora-Gilboa.
If the Bulldogs can finish the job, it adds another milestone to a year that’s been full of them, mainly for junior guard Lauryn Auchmuty.
Auchmuty surpassed 1,000 career points against Leipsic on Jan. 11. She broke the PCL record for most threes in a game with 10 on Feb. 8 against Bluffton and is seemingly in a three-way race for NWC player of the year honors with Lyv Lindeman of Delphos Jefferson and Cali Gregory of Crestview.
“We know how much work and time Lauryn puts into this game, and to see her get rewarded for that is really cool,” Columbus Grove coach Brian Schroeder following Auchmuty’s 1,000th point. “She’s an exceptional scorer at all three levels, and it’s an incredible accomplishment for her and our team.”
For Kalida and coach Adam Huber, this year marks the ninth time in the last 12 seasons that the Wildcats surpassed the 15-win mark.
Five of Kalida’s six losses came against Crestview (20-2), Delphos Jefferson (19-3), Liberty-Benton (17-5), Columbus Grove (16-5), and Ottawa-Glandorf (20-2).
The Wildcats picked up a signature win on Tuesday in overtime against Minster (15-6), 40-32.
It was a game that Kalida viewed as a building block heading into the postseason,
“It was a gutty win. We will always find a way to win,” Huber said. “Tournament games are going to be like this. It’s sometimes going to be low-scoring and ugly.”
The Wildcats are currently on a five-game winning streak heading into next week’s tournament.
Reach Chris Howell at 567-242-0468 or on Twitter @Lima_Howell
