Carly Thorbahn, left, reaches out to help her twin sister, Erica Thorbahn, up off the court during last week’s win at Columbus Grove.
Jessica Trinko | The Lima News
OTTOVILLE — Two Thorbahn’s are definitely better than one.
Just ask the Ottoville girls basketball team.
Twin sisters Carly and Erica Thorbahn have stepped forward in their junior years, often leading the Big Green (11-3, 3-1 Putnam County League) in scoring and intangibles.
They’re having so much success together, that it’s almost hard to remember that a year ago, Carly Thorbahn missed much of last year’s 11-11 campaign with an injury, leaving Erica on the court by herself for the first time in her life.
“It’s definitely a lot different than last year,” said Erica Thorbahn, who was an all-state honorable mention player last year and PCL first-teamer and averages 12 points per game this year despite a midseason shooting slump. “I knew she wasn’t there because of her injury. But this year, we have that connection back, so it really helps.”
It’s evident when it comes together. Last week in a win against Columbus Grove, Carly Thorbahn barely glanced at a spot on the floor, and her twin, who plays guard and wears No. 4, stepped to the spot to set a pick that got her open. As defenders, they descended on Grove players as if they were of one mind when trapping them into a corner.
“We kind of work together and just can sometimes read each other’s minds it seems like,” said Carly Thorbahn, a wing-wearing No. 14 who averages 14 points per game. “It does definitely help in situations.”
Both are just as likely to pop a 3-pointer as they are to drive into the lane for a layup, making them that much more dangerous on a basketball court.
Ottoville coach Vaughn Horstman admitted he can’t always tell the identical twins apart, but he’s glad they’re on the floor together.
“I’ve got to look twice sometimes when I’m talking to them,” Horstman said. “In practice, the practice jerseys don’t have numbers. Even in a game, when they’re running up and down the floor, I’m not looking at numbers. I’m looking at their face.”
Even when he’s not sure who was who, he appreciates what they bring to the hardwood.
“They’re a lot of fun to coach. I mean, they’re very knowledgable in the game,” Horstman said. “We’re trying to get them to instill that knowledge into other players. That’s going to be very needed when we get down to the end of the year.”
A third Thorbahn, their father and high school principal, Jon Thorbahn, is also on the court as a varsity assistant coach. Their older brother, Josh, was Otoville’s all-time leading scorer and the PCL player of the year in 2019 and 2021, and now he’s a junior on the University of Findlay basketball team.
Both girls have already received offers to play college basketball at the University of St. Francis, an NAIA school in Fort Wayne, Ind., although they haven’t committed anywhere yet. They’re both on the all-A honor roll at their school and accomplished, all-league volleyball players as well.
The Thorbahn twins are joined by very capable scorers, including seniors Jessa Burgei and Isabelle Furley and juniors Jocelyn Langhals and Paige Turnwald.
“I know that like if I’m having a bad game, I know Erica can step up or other teammates can step up,” Carly Thorbahn said. “It really gets us all going and makes everyone happier and just lets the game flow out for everyone else.”
Ottoville’s hope is to continue rolling. Since suffering a one-point loss to Kalida that created a logjam of one-loss teams in the league, the Big Green recorded back-to-back wins against Columbus Grove and Bath, teams that compete at the top of their respective leagues.
There are difficult games ahead, with powers on the schedule such as Ottawa-Glandorf (Jan. 20), Delphos Jefferson (Jan. 2) and Liberty-Benton (Feb. 13). If they stick together, they know anything is possible, especially with their physical style.
“In practice we’re playing hard, getting used to the contact really,” Carly Thorbahn said. “We’re pushing each other, really making each other better in practice for us to be able to handle it in games.”
Most of all, the Thorbahn twins are happy to be back together on the court and succeeding together this year.
Reach David Trinko at 567-242-0467 or on Twitter @Lima_Trinko.
