Kalida’s Ady Miller drives against Cory-Rawson’s Brynn Reese during a Division IV girls district semifinal at Ottawa-Glandorf. See more high school basketball photos at LimaScores.com.
Don Speck | The Lima News
OTTAWA – After getting down 23-8 by halftime to No. 1 seed Leipsic in Thursday’s Division IV district semifinal, Columbus Grove girls basketball head coach Brian Schroeder decided to simplify his team’s offense for the second half.
It worked to perfection.
Columbus Grove, the No. 3 seed, came roaring back to upset Leipsic 55-51 at Ottawa-Glandorf’s Robert J. Hermiller Gymnasium.
The Bulldogs outscored the Vikings 24-8 in the third quarter. Then, Columbus Grove held off Leipsic down the stretch for the hard-fought win.
Columbus Grove (16-8) will play No. 2 seed Kalida (18-6) in a district final Saturday at O-G with tip-off set for 6 p.m.
In Thursday’s second district semifinal at O-G, Kalida defeated Cory-Rawson (16-8), 64-35 to advance.
“We thought we got pretty good looks, early; and we had good offensive movement,” Schroeder said. “We just kind of lost our composure. We felt like we had to score on the first screening action, instead of being patient and kind of making them work a little bit. I felt like we lost our poise in the first half, offensively. We simplified our game plan, offensively (for the second half).”
Lauryn Auchmuty, a 5-foot-6 guard, led Columbus Grove with 21 points, including three 3-pointers. Auchmuty also came away with six rebounds and three assists. Jaylen Sautter had 11 points, including two 3-pointers. Brynn Fortman added nine points on two shots behind the arc for the Bulldogs.
Whitney Langhals led Leipsic (21-3) with 21 points, including five 3-pointers. Abby Haselman had nine points and eight boards. Kyrsten Martinez added seven points, including two 3-pointers for the Vikings.
In a back-and-forth first quarter that had five lead changes, Leipsic finally slipped out with a 9-6 lead by the first stop.
The Vikings were 3 of 9 shooting from the field, while the Bulldogs connected on 3 of 10 shots from the floor in the first quarter.
Leipsic began to find its range in the second quarter.
Langhals and Martinez each connected once behind the 3-point line to help give the Vikings some separation, early in the second.
By the halftime break, Leipsic had pulled out to a 23-8 advantage.
Langhals led the Vikings with 11 first-half points. As a team, Leipsic was 7 of 19 from the field for 37-percent shooting. Columbus Grove was just 4 of 20 from the floor for 20-percent shooting in the first half.
The Vikings dominated the boards in the first half, 19-9.
Columbus Grove took the game over in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs opened the second half with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 7, 23-16, a little more than three minutes into the third.
Sautter had a 3-pointer in that spurt by the Bulldogs.
Columbus Grove was not done.
At the 3:50 mark of the third, Auchmuty nailed a 3-pointer to cut it to 4, 25-21.
Moments later, Brynn Fortman hit a 3-pointer to cut it to 2, 29-27.
Columbus Grove led 32-31 at the end of the third.
Columbus Grove shifted to yet another gear in the final eight minutes.
The Bulldogs pulled out to a 42-35 lead at the four-minute mark of the fourth on a three by Auchmuty, her second of the contest.
But Leipsic came roaring back.
With 1:50 left to play, Langhals hit a 3-pointer to knot the contest, 44-44.
Down the stretch, Columbus Grove hit some big shots to hold off Leipsic.
In the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs connected four times behind the 3-point line. Auchmuty had two of those long bombs.
“It was a team effort,” Schroeder said, “Obviously, our offense in the second half was the result of some of the girls hitting some shots and then other girls getting a little more confidence. … And we guarded a little bit harder. But everybody contributed to tonight’s win.”
After shooting just 20 percent in the first half, Columbus Grove ended the night, shooting 46 percent from the field. The Bulldogs were 13 of 19 from the floor in the second half (68 percent).
Leipsic ended the game, shooting 36 percent.
Leipsic committed 14 turnovers, while Columbus Grove turned it over 12 times on the night.
Leipsic won the boards, 29-22.
Schroeder said his team is starting to come together at the right time of the season.
“We lost four seniors from last year,” Schroeder said. “We had three returning starters, but each of them were filling different roles. Last year, Kenzie King was our point guard. So, Lauryn (Auchmuty) was off the ball. Lauryn had to transition to being our point guard this season.
“Jaylen Sautter was our center last year. This year she (Sautter) is playing on the perimeter. Sage (Clement)– we didn’t rely on her to do a whole lot, offensively. This year, she is more of a primary scorer for us. Even the girls we do have returning, are all filling different roles. It has definitely been a work in progress.”
Kalida 64, Cory-Rawson 35
Kalida led 13-12 at the end of the first quarter. By the halftime break, Kalida pulled out to a 28-16 advantage over Cory-Rawson.
Kalida extended its lead to 44-24 by the end of the third quarter.
Kalida outscored Cory-Rawson 20-11 in the final eight minutes.
Brooke Erhart led Kalida with 14 points, including two 3-pointers. Camille Hovest had 11 points. Malia Romes added 10 points for the Wildcats.
Morgan McVetta led Cory-Rawson with 13 points, including two 3-pointers.
Mark Altstaetter wrote this story for LimaScores.com. Reach The Lima News sports department at 567-242-0451.
