Columbus Grove’s Nicole Nesby (center) tries to block a shot attempt by Ottoville’s Carly Thorbahn, right, as the Big Green’s Paige Turnwald gets into position Saturday at Columbus Grove.
Jessica Trinko | The Lima News
COLUMBUS GROVE — Coaches learn a lot about their team by seeing how they face a deficit.
Ottoville girls basketball coach Vaughn Horstman learned that his team had the mettle to battle back from an 11-point deficit in the first quarter to beat Columbus Grove 50-43 on Saturday afternoon in a showdown of two of the Putnam County League’s top teams.
Horstman and the Big Green had just witnessed a shooting clinic put on by Columbus Grove’s Lauryn Auchmuty, who scored 14 of her 26 points in the first quarter and hit four 3-pointers in those same eight minutes to lift her team to a 21-10 lead.
That could have been the end for the Big Green (9-3, 2-1 PCL), who were still reeling from their Thursday night loss to Kalida. Ottoville responded with a 25-2 run.
“We played with a lot of heart in that second quarter,” Horstman said. “I mean, it’s what we’ve been looking for all year. It was a question if we could maintain that energy.”
Ottoville’s Erica Thorbahn scored 10 points to turn the tables, ending the 5-foot-5 junior guard’s admitted scoring slump against some tight defense by the Bulldogs. She finished the game with 12 points.
“I knew I had to get up to the gym and get some shots up before the game so I was prepared,” she said. “I was just trying my best.”
Carly Thorbahn, Erica’s twin and a 5-foot-8 junior wing, led the Big Green with 13 points. Brooklyn Koester, a 5-foot-6 freshman guard, added eight rebounds.
Columbus Grove (8-3, 2-1 PCL) showed plenty of heart as well after a disappointing loss to Crestview on Thursday. The Bulldogs battled back to within four points, 40-36, early in the fourth quarter.
That was as close as Grove could get, though, despite Auchmuty’s 26-point afternoon, including seven 3-pointers. No other Bulldog scored more than six points. Nesby had a team-high nine rebounds.
Ottoville essentially stalled for the last four minutes of the game, methodically running its offense before pulling the ball back out near midcourt as it tried to keep the ball out of the Bulldogs’ hands.
Columbus Grove coach Brian Schroeder said Ottoville’s defensive pressure on Auchmuty impressed him, especially with both teams coming off Thursday night losses and a quick turnaround.
“Lauryn was able to get loose a couple of times,” he said. “I thought in the second quarter, they did a better job of contesting her shots. Obviously, they found some rhythm offensively. We didn’t do a very good job of contesting their shooters.”
Both teams shot well, with Ottoville hitting 56% of its shots and Columbus Grove hitting 47% of its shots. The Big Green hit 60% of their 3-pointers, compared to the Bulldogs’ 47% from behind the arc.
After defeating a top PCL team, the Big Green feel like they’re right back in the hunt in the PCL, where every team now has at least one league loss.
“It definitely gives us another shot at the PCL, after our loss against Kalida,” said Ottoville’s Carly Thorbahn. “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.”
Ottoville 50, Columbus Grove 43
Ottoville 12 23 5 10 — 50
Columbus Grove 21 2 11 9 — 43
OTTOVILLE
Jessa Burgei 8, Brooklyn Koester 4, Erica Thorbahn 12, Jocelyn Langhals 2, Carly Thorbahn 13, Kendall Schnipke 4, Paige Turnwald 4, Isabelle Furley 3. Totals: 18-8 — 50.
COLUMBUS GROVE
Lauryn Auchmuty 26, Ruth Myers 3, Jade Siefker 3, Kendal Palte 5, Nicole Nesby 6. Totals: 16-2 — 43.
3-pointers: O-E.Thorbahn 2, Burgei 1, Furley 1, Koester 1, C.Thorbahn 1. CG-Auchmuty 7, Myers 1, Siefker 1.
Reach David Trinko at 567-242-0467 or on Twitter @Lima_Trinko.
