Ottoville’s Jessa Burgei (2) tries to keep the ball away from a slew of Wayne Trace players, including Lexi Moore, left, and Tianna Sinn, middle, during Saturday’s game in Ottoville.
Jessica Trinko | The Lima News
OTTOVILLE — Ottoville got hot in the second quarter of its girls basketball matchup against Wayne Trace on Saturday, using a 12-4 run to take a four-point lead into the half.
The problem with getting hot, the Big Green found out, is sometimes you can get equally cold. Wayne Trace held Ottoville to just one basket in the third quarter and pulled away for a 45-34 nonconference win.
“They had the two guards who were good ballplayers, and we didn’t have anyone who could corral them,” Ottoville coach Vaughn Horstman said. “Then used their post player, who played a good game inside there. We had no one to match up with her. That’s how we got that spread.”
The game included the oddity of a pair of twins starting for each team. Ottoville offered juniors Carly Thorbahn (16 points and six rebounds) and Erica Thorbahn (six steals). Wayne Trace brought sophomores Careen Winans (10 points) and Caroline Winans (eight rebounds).
Wayne Trace (7-2) successfully found a way to slow down the Big Green’s Carly Thorbahn in the second half. She’d scored 14 of her points in the first half, hitting 44.4% of her shots, including two 3-pointers.
Some of that seemed to be exhausting her on the defense end, as the 5-foot-8 Thorbahn matched up with 6-foot-1 post Lexi Moore in a physical battle throughout much of the game. Moore finished with eight points and pulled down 17 rebounds.
“It was definitely very physical,” Wayne Trace coach Bethany DeJarnett said. “Whenever she was healthy her freshman year, she did the same. That’s the twin I’d wanted matched up with her, since she’s just as strong. It was definitely a good matchup.”
The Raiders held a commanding 31-14 rebounding edge.
Ottoville just ended up going cold shooting, hitting just 20.8% of its shots, including just 3 of 24 from outside the 3-point arc. Five of those misses came in the fourth quarter, as the Big Green tried to rely on the long shot to rally.
In comparison, Wayne Trace hit 34.2% of its shots, including 25% of its 3-point attempts.
The Big Green won’t ponder the loss for long as they head into the Christmas holidays and the brunt of their Putnam County League schedule, Horstman said.
“We have a short-term memory,” he said. “We really don’t say more than 22 words in the locker room at the end of a game, win or lose. It’s short-term memory. Move on to the next opponent, and work to get better in practice.”
Wayne Trace 45, Ottoville 34
Wayne Trace 15 4 13 13 — 45
Ottoville 11 12 2 9 — 34
WAYNE TRACE
Ava Zartman 0, Aubree Miller 3, Tianna Sinn 8, Harper Myers 7, Caitlyn Mead 0, Careen Winans 10, Lexi Moore 8, Caroline Winans 6, Kathleen Stover 2, Lynsey Pease 0, Amber Stoller 1. Totals: 9 4 15-21 — 45.
OTTOVILLE
Jessa Burgei 3, Brooklyn Koester 2, Erica Thorbahn 1, Jocelyn Langhals 6, Carly Thorbahn 16, Adeline Miller 0, Kendall Schnipke 5, Paige Turnwald 1, Suever, Jenna 0, Honigford, LExi 0, Furley, Isabelle 0, Werenberger, Briley 0, 0. Totals: 7 3 11-20 — 34.
3-point goals: WT-Winans 2, Miller 1, Myers 1; O-Langhals 1, C.Thorbahn 1, Schnipke 1.
Records: Wayne Trace 7-2, Ottoville 7-2.
Reach David Trinko at 567-242-0467 or on Twitter @Lima_Trinko.
