Leipsic’s Whitney Langhals (14) fights to keep the ball from Columbus Grove’s Sage Clement during Thursday night’s game at Leipsic. Head to LimaScores.com to see more high school basketball photos.
Jackelyn Johnson | The Lima News
LEIPSIC — Thursday’s girls basketball matchup between Leipsic and visiting Columbus Grove had strong league implications.
It was a Putnam County League matchup, as well as a Northwest Conference contest.
It was a close game for all four quarters.
Leipsic managed to hold off Columbus Grove down the stretch for a hard-fought 37-34 victory.
With the win, Leipsic (11-1 overall) remains undefeated in both the Putnam County League and the Northwest Conference with perfect 4-0 league marks.
Columbus Grove slips to 6-7 overall, 2-2 in the PCL and 1-3 in the NWC.
“It’s like (getting) two wins for us,” Leipsic head coach Gary Kreinbrink said. “We get a win in the PCL and in the Northwest Conference. That keeps us undefeated in both leagues. So, we’re really happy about that.”
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Kyrsten Martinez led Leipsic and all scorers with 16 points, including four 3-pointers. Whitney Langhals had 12 points, including two treys. Langhals also came away with five rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Vikings.
Lauryn Auchmuty led Columbus Grove with 10 points and 10 boards. Jaylen Sautter scored nine points, including two 3-pointers. Sautter also pulled down seven rebounds. Brynn Fortman added seven points for the Bulldogs.
Kreinbrink was especially pleased on how his team played at the defensive end.
“Ava Henry (five points, six rebounds) is usually our stopper, defensively,” Kreinbrink said. “She always does a good job. We had to put her on the best offensive player. I can’t say enough good things about Ava. She did a nice job on Auchmuty. … Auchmuty is a great player.”
After a slow start, Leipsic pulled out to a 9-3 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Columbus Grove was just 1 of 9 shooting from the field in the first eight minutes of action. Sautter had the only points for the Bulldogs in the first quarter, a 3-pointer, early on.
Langhals scored five first-quarter points for the Vikings. As a team, Leipsic was 3 of 7 shooting from the floor.
Columbus Grove, behind Fortman’s seven second-quarter points, cut the deficit to one, 13-12, by the halftime break.
Leipsic struggled from the field in the second stanza, connecting on just 1 of 9 of its field goal attempts. Langhals led the Vikings in the first half with her seven markers.
For the half, Columbus Grove was 4 of 18 from the field for 22-percent shooting. Leipsic was 4 of 16 from the floor for 25-percent shooting.
At the 6:35 mark of the third quarter, Sautter nailed her second 3-pointer of the contest to knot the contest at 15 each.
Leipsic responded.
The Vikings pulled out to a 30-23 advantage by the third stop. Martinez jump-started the Vikings with three 3-pointers.
“She (Martinez) is probably the difference,” Kreinbrink said. “Someone always needs to step up and help in those situations; and she was able to do that for us. She’s a senior. She’s been through the wars before.”
For the game, Leipsic shot 34 percent from the field. Columbus Grove connected on 27 percent of its field goal attempts.
Columbus Grove committed 11 turnovers on the night, while Leipsic turned it over 10 times.
Columbus Grove won the battle on the boards, 33-24.
“We knew it was going to be this type of game,” Kreinbrink said. “We knew it was going to be a grind-it-out, low scoring type of game. So, we’re not surprised at all about the score. We prepared ourselves for it to be like this from start to finish.”
Mark Altstaetter wrote this story for LimaScores.com. Reach The Lima News sports department at 567-242-0451.
