The Fort Loramie girls, now 10-1 on the season after Saturday’s thrilling victory at Ottawa-Glandorf, 55-52, needed a break from a series of weekend hikes to basketball games.
However, it didn’t happen. Instead, Saturday morning meant weekend bus ride number five in a row.
Yep. A 9 a.m. one hour-plus excursion to Putnam County. An early 12:15 p.m. Saturday tip-off. And a lazy start to the contest by the “road warriors” from Shelby County, who must still play the next two weekends away from home.
Division III powerhouse and previously unbeaten Ottawa-Glandorf took advantage, streaking to a 13-6 lead after four minutes.
The Redskins were then hustled to the bench by head coach Carla Siegel, who had called a demonstrative timeout.
Again, the squad didn’t get a true “break,” which normally offers plenty of time to wipe off the sweat and grab a swig or two of water.
Instead, roles and assignments for the Redskins that were planned for the 10-0 Titans were “re-emphasized,” player by player.
In the first several O-G possessions, the Titans Karsyn Erford, a 5-foot-8 sophomore, and senior Katie Kaufman, a 6-1 senior, slipped through and behind the soft Fort Loramie defense for three quick baskets. Myka Aldrich, a 5-9 senior, added another hoop inside. So did 5-10 junior Kaityln Kimmet.
Kaufman’s stick-back and three-point play lifted the Titans to a cushion of seven. The O-G post player was averaging 12 points per game; Erford, 14. And the Redskins defense lost them both, early.
But over the next 25 minutes and beyond the middle of the fourth period, the Fort Loramie girls tenaciously scrapped and shot their way to a 50-42 bulge, out-pointing O-G, 44-29, during that span. A meaningless layup by Kaufman at the final horn reduced FL’s winning margin to three.
Despite being out-rebounded on the offensive glass five to one at the game’s open, the Redskins said, “enough of that,” and came back to whip O-G on the boards, 30-25, for the afternoon.
Summer Hoying and Victoria Mescher split a dozen field goals, which were a mix of mid-range jumpers and follow-up shots near the rim after misses. Hoying tallied 13; Mescher, a dozen.
Although, a flurry of buckets by Erford and Kaufman in the final 30 seconds of the first half vaulted O-G to a 26-23 edge at intermission. As a result, the Redskins lost a two-possession lead.
FL’s Skyler Albers came to the rescue in the second half with 14 points, and 17 for the game. Often, when the ball was pried loose from a Titan, Albers was in the middle of the action. She helped keep the ball alive on the backboards. She sprinted the floor after made O-G hoops and quickly countered with a score. Albers was a thorn in the side of the Titans, for sure.
The 5-10 senior’s long, rainbow trifecta enabled the Redskins to shave down a five-point, third quarter deficit to two. Eventually, it was only one at the period’s end.
Jaden Rose played a solid floor game, buried a triple in the first period, and drilled home three of four very late foul shots.
Junior Avery Brandewie, honorable mention all-Ohio last season, pumped in four points. She is rounding into shape after nursing a couple nagging ankle injuries.
Off the bench, juniors Mylee Shatto and Ariel Heitkamp recorded a big basket apiece in the third quarter.
Collectively, Fort Loramie’s defense silenced O-G’s offense to begin the fourth stanza, blanking the Titans on the scoreboard for the first full five minutes. Like the victory at D-II juggernaut Findlay Liberty-Benton on December 2, Saturday’s triumph at O-G was a terrific Redskins team effort.
ScoresBroadcast.com’s Chuck McBee encouraged the girls on the air in the first period when he stated, “Better off behind after four minutes and ahead after four quarters.” Fort Loramie heeded the advice.
More than 3,000 listeners joined ScoresBroadcast.com for the contest, which drew regional and statewide interest. Each school figures to be at or near the top of the first Ohio high school D-III and D-IV polls in early January.
The D-IV Redskins finished the game much stronger. In fact, a couple O-G starters were out of steam in the fourth with hands on hips requesting a break. This time, the “break” favored Fort Loramie which benefited from Erford and Kaufman needing respites.
Any more breaks leaning the way of the Redskins? Well, not in the schedule.
Russia is up next at home on Thursday. This contest is carried by ScoresBroadcast.com at 6:45 PM.
And then the “road warriors” travel to St. Henry on Saturday. Jan. 6; to Anna, on Tuesday, Jan. 9; and to the Classic in the Country at Berlin Hiland on Saturday, Jan. 13.
The Redskins will have to continue to make their own “breaks”— by producing “winning plays” on the court during games.
