A 60-31 Saturday rout of Ottawa-Glandorf by the Fort Loramie girls, now 70-1 in their last 71 contests, began in an uncharacteristic manner for the Redskins.

The first couple times down the floor, defending state champion and 14-0 Fort Loramie hit the wall beyond the end line with errant passes. Then, OG fans in the stands dropped their heads in order to miss two more wild heaves.

Sloppy start? A long trip to an away game? An early Saturday tip-off at 12:30 p.m.?

Yes, three times!

But keep in mind the opponent was a tall Division III girls basketball team with a fine 7-2 season record and a current state ranking of No. 6 in Ohio. Troy Yant, an outstanding ten-year head coach, runs an excellent program.

In the last four decades, Ottawa-Glandorf is second only to Lima Bath in Western Buckeye League titles in girls hoops. The Titans have generated a dozen championships; nine, outright.

But, on Saturday, little went right for the home squad, especially after intermission.

Fort Loramie’s Colleen Brandewie began to heat up with four shots that singed the nets. The senior canned a variety of short, mid-range, and lengthy two-point jumpers in the third quarter to extend the Redskins lead from six points at halftime to 12 after three, 34-22.

In the middle of the second half, the game’s listening audience on ScoresBroadcast.com climbed to more than 2,400. WMVR simulcasted the Saturday afternoon, Fort Loramie road tilt.

OG had hoped to make a game of it after the game’s mid-point and did manage to produce three, quick, short baskets from six-foot senior Erin Kaufman in the third quarter. She finished with 14. Her sister, sophomore Katie, scored six.

However, no one else recorded more than a single hoop for OG on the entire afternoon. Maggie Verhoff connected on the team’s lone triple near the end of the contest.

During the final stanza, the band of Redskins ran their offense like a synchronized war dance. The precision seemed to mystify Titan players and even spectators. No more passes hit the wall. Instead, the OG players did. They were drained.

The home fans were still dropping their heads. But now they were doing so in awe of the Redskins fourth quarter marksmanship.

Freshman Victoria Mescher splashed home a baseline jumper. Senior Ava Sholtis poured in a long trifecta and a couple deuces. Brandewie added eight more points, including four at the stripe. Senior Aubrey Baker cashed in from eight feet.

The Redskins crushed the Titans, 26-7, in the fourth period.

Brandewie wrapped up the contest with 18 points, all but two in the final 16 minutes. Sholtis was sharp and scored 15 more. Ava Turner and Skylar Albers contributed seven each. Albers chipped in with a big offensive rebound bucket in the first quarter when the Redskins were searching for points. She launched home a 3 in the second.

Fort Loramie was guilty of seven turnovers in the opening session and only seven the rest of the way. OG totaled 19, the same number it committed a year ago in losing to the Redskins, 57-38.

On Saturday, OG fans began filing out of Robert J. Hermiller gymnasium with a few minutes left. Several, who remained well after the bitter end, heaped praise on the visiting team. “Fort Loramie was smooth and polished,” a female spectator said, adding, “Our defense lost those girls. They all looked alike.” Her husband then commented, “And they shot the same way, too.”

And with the same very good results.

The Redskins nailed shots at a 65 percent clip in the last eight-minute session. They did not touch any part of the iron on their first 17 free throws and missed only one, the 18th. As a club, the girls are now 77 percent at the charity stripe for the year and are shooting 39 percent from distance.

Head coach Carla Siegel, in her 23rd year at the helm of the Fort Loramie girls program, said that her seniors are “amazing” and are mentoring the younger girls as they, too, continue to improve and develop to meet team expectations.

Her roster is comprised of a dozen freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors who possess various levels of high school basketball experience. But she emphasized they are all expected by now to perform for the varsity program “as varsity players.”

Following the Saturday game, Coach Yant said, “Carla does a phenomenal job. Each year she builds a high quality team with girls she can plug and play. They know their own roles and each other’s roles so well.”

He also noted, “Her team’s depth made a big difference today.”

The Redskins wore their bright red uniforms from top to bottom at OG. The game attire was impressive.

Fort Loramie players performed that way, too, piling up 14 field goals in the second half. When the bell rang out to start the final two periods, the Redskins hit the ground running.

And they looked even faster and quicker when OG “hit the wall.”