Ottawa girls basketball uses huge 2nd half surge in 55-37 win over East Peoria

FAIRBURY — With its bus arriving just 10 minutes before the scheduled game time, the Ottawa girls basketball team struggled in the first half against East Peoria in Thursday night’s final pool play game of the Bank of Pontiac Turkey Tip-Off Tournament.

“It definitely showed early that we showed up 10 minutes before tip-off,” Ottawa coach Brent Moore said. “We were a little out of sync in every facet in the first half and East Peoria isn’t a team you want to do that against. they’re a tough team that plays very hard. With all the craziness of the night, we are a senior-laden team, and the seniors did a great job of helping us push through and finish up the first half on a strong note.”

Despite the adversity, the Pirates led by eight at halftime. When the Raiders fought back to tie the game three minutes into the third quarter, Ottawa exploded on a 19-0 run over the next seven minutes in an eventual 55-37 win.

Ottawa (3-0) now advances to Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. championship game at Pontiac High School.

The Pirates were led by senior Hailey Larsen’s 15-point, 10-rebound double-double. Senior Marlie Orlandi added 12 points, five rebounds and three assists, senior Skylar Dorsey 11 points, and junior Mary Stisser 10 points, three assists and two steals. Ayla Dorsey chipped in five points, while Ella Schmitz posted three assists.

“I feel like the halftime break gave everyone a chance to gather themselves and truly get mentally into things tonight,” Moore said. “East Peoria came out strong to start the second half to get things tied up, but then it just seemed like from there our energy level really spiked up. We started getting tips and steals and turned them into quick points and got on a nice run that was really the difference in the game.”

East Peoria all-state guard Kylie Moeller led her team with a game-high 19 points, but just three in the final 13 minutes, with Stisser following her every move.

“That’s what (Stisser) does and she’s a player that really loves that type of challenge,” Moore said. “The thing in the first half was we were really good at slowing down Moeller, but not very good at guarding the other four girls on the floor. We did a good job of cleaning that up in the final 13 or so minutes of the game.”

Ottawa led 15-9 after the first quarter with Dorsey sinking a pair of 3-pointers and Orlandi scoring four points. Orlandi then picked up a quick second foul to start the second and went to the bench, but seven points from Larsen and five from Stisser helped Ottawa led 28-20 at halftime.

“We were out of sorts for sure in the first half. I think the best thing for us was getting to halftime, to be able to get in the locker room and regroup,” Larsen said. “Everything felt rushed with us getting here late, but I feel like halftime gave all of a chance to catch our breath and refocus.

“The biggest focus was to know where (Moeller) was on the floor all of the time, but we had Mary guarding her, so we knew we’d be OK with that.”

A three-pointer and layup by Moeller helped the Raiders tie the game at 30-all at the 5:42 mark of the third, but from there it was all Pirates.

Three drives by Orlandi, five points each by Dorsey and Stisser pushed the Pirates advantage to 44-30 heading to the fourth quarter, where a three-pointer from Alya Dorsey and rebound basket by Larsen all but put the game on ice.

“It was definitely a slow start and a slow night for me shooting the ball,” said Orlandi who started 1-for-7, but finished hitting 4-of-7. “At halftime I just told myself to continue to find open teammates with passes, keep moving without the ball, and when I had a chance to take the ball to the hoop to do it. We have a lot of girls on this team that can score, so if I’m having a tough night scoring wise, I know I need to do the other things better to help my teammates score.”