Columbus Grove’s Nicole Nesby shoots against Miller City’s Lou Michel during Saturday’s Division IV district final at Ottawa-Glandorf High School.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
OTTAWA — All season long, Miller City has hung its hat on being a defense-first team.
On Saturday night in the D-IV district final at Ottawa-Glandorf High School, Columbus Grove flipped the script on the Wildcats.
Miller City (17-8) led 7-2 in the first quarter but Columbus Grove (20-5) flexed its defensive muscles, holding the Wildcats scoreless for the game’s next 11 minutes and scoring 22 points in the process.
That was enough for the Bulldogs to nab a 48-35 victory and a district title.
“We know that our defense travels,” Columbus Grove coach Brian Schroeder said. “You’re not always guaranteed a great shooting night, but our defense goes wherever we go. It was honestly about limiting them to one shot. The last time we played, they killed us on the offensive glass, so I really challenged the girls to be physical and I thought we did a great job of finishing our defensive possessions.”
Defensively Miller City lived up to its reputation in the first quarter. The Wildcats led for all but the final few seconds when Lauryn Auchmuty hit a three to put Columbus Grove up 9-7.
“They started in a box-and-one, which we’d seen throughout the year, but it really disturbed our rhythm,” Schroeder said. “We had to use Lauryn as a ball-screener and Allie Thompson came in and scored, which made them have to go back to man-to-man defense.”
Thompson’s two that started the second quarter put the Bulldogs up 11-7. After that, Nicole Nesby, Abby Stechschulte, Kedal Palte, and Jade Siefker scored during Columbus Grove’s 22-0 run that made it 24-7.
“They (Columbus Grove) applied the pressure on us and we struggled to get the ball in the middle of the zone,” Miller City coach Ross Heuerman said. “We couldn’t score and in the meantime, they were going down and making shots. That was the difference in the game. We made a little run in the second half, but the second quarter put us in a hole that was too deep to come out of.”
Miller City got 10 points from Maddie Erford, who hit three triples in the second half. Isabel Reyna added eight points.
Balance was the theme of Columbus Grove’s offense on Saturday night. Nesby and Auchmuty each had a team-high 13 points, while four other players contributed at least four points.
“It was a team effort,” Schroeder said. “I thought Miller City did a nice job of guarding Lauryn hard and making her take tough shots. They executed their defensive game plan well. Thankfully we had other girls step up and hit shots.”
Because of its extended shooting slump, Miller City trailed 26-10 at the break.
The Wildcats made up a little ground in the third quarter, cutting the deficit to 38-25, and they got as close as nine-down with three minutes left in the fourth (44-35), but the Bulldogs were never seriously in danger of squandering the lead.
Columbus Grove shot 18 of 40 from the field (45%), and Miller City made 11 out of its 46 shots (23%)
The Bulldogs also held the advantage on the boards, 27-16, but lost the turnover battle 15-13.
Columbus Grove’s next opponent is Gibsonburg in the regional semifinals. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Elida Fieldhouse on Wednesday night. It’s Columbus Grove’s third straight trip to regionals.
“We look at every tournament as a different tournament,” Schroeder said. “Sectional, then district, and now we’re kind of starting back over again with a four-team tournament at regionals. We know who we could run into, and we have some film on them, but we know all four teams are going to be great and we’ll have to be prepared.”
Columbus Grove 48, Miller City 35
Score by quarters:
Columbus Grove 9 17 12 10 — 48
Miller City 7 3 15 10 — 35
COLUMBUS GROVE
Nicole Nesby 13, Lauryn Auchmuty 13, Allison Thompson 6, Kendal Palte 5, Ruth Myers 4, Abby Stechschule 4, Jade Siefker 3, Totals: 18-7-48.
MILLER CITY
Maddie Erford 10, Isabel Reyna 8, Chelsea Erford 5, Jordan Schnipke 4, Andrea Pfau 4, Ava Ruck 3, Lou Michel 1, Totals: 11-7-38.
Three-point goals: CG — Auchmuty 2, Siefker 1, Myers 1, Palte 1; MC — M. Erford 3, C. Erford 1, Ruck 1
Records — Columbus Grove 20-5; Miller City 17-8
Reach Chris Howell at 567-242-0468 or on Twitter at @Lima_Howell
