Second-half defense key for Ottawa in win over Sandwich

OTTAWA – There are always going to be those nights when the basketball refuses to go through the hoop.

That was the case for the Ottawa girls basketball team in the first half of Monday’s nonconference game against Sandwich at Kingman Gymnasium.

The Pirates hit just 4 of 27 shots in the opening 16 minutes, but then used their defense to create offense in the second half – including a game-changing 14-0 run to end the third quarter – to record a 48-36 victory over the Indians.

Ottawa is now 13-1 at home this season and 16-7 overall. Sandwich fell to 9-12.

“The basketball season is a long one, and we are getting toward the tail end of it. Every team is going to go through nights where shots aren’t falling, but those are the nights where you have to really step things up on the defensive end,” Ottawa coach Brent Moore said. “We talked at halftime and in every timeout about how our defense needed to stay tough even when the offense is struggling.

“We put together a number of good defensive possessions in the second half, and a lot of them led to turnovers turned into layups. Our energy in the second half was much better, and it was the key to being able to put a nice run together to finish the third quarter.”

Sandwich led 5-4 after one quarter, 14-13 at halftime and 24-20 after a 3-pointer from the right corner by Bailey Frieders.

Ottawa then used four straight free throws by Ella Schmitz, hoops from Ashlynn Ganiere and Ayla Dorsey and eight points from Marlie Orlandi to take the lead and extend it to 34-24 heading to the fourth.

The hosts pushed the advantage to as many as 15 points in the final quarter.

Orlandi finished with a game-high 23 points, nine rebounds and seven steals. Schmitz added 11 points, three assists and three steals, and Ganiere had six points, six rebounds and five assists. The Pirates finished 15 of 50 (30%) from the field.

“We just couldn’t really get our shots to fall,” said Schmitz, a senior guard. “I really wanted to make sure I played with a lot of energy in the second half, and I feel like everyone stepped up, as well, on the defensive end.

“We were able to get a couple of easy baskets in the third quarter, and many of those came because of playing good defense.”

“Ella has been a team leader ever since she walked into this building,” Moore said. “I talked to her at halftime about attacking the hoop and getting to the free-throw line, and she did that. Her energy on the defensive end in the second half carried over to the other girls on the floor.”

Frieders had 12 points to lead Sandwich, with Hannah Treptow adding seven points and three blocks. Alee Subat and Alayla Harris each chipped in six points, the latter grabbing a game-best 12 rebounds. Sandwich hit 13 of 30 (43%) from the field and won the rebound battle 36-26 but committed 30 turnovers on the night.

“I felt we really competed and were very scrappy against a very good Ottawa team tonight,“ Sandwich coach Steve Treptow said. ”Like we did tonight, we’ve turned the ball over a lot this season, but we also played super hard from start to finish. Ottawa just puts so much pressure on ball handlers, and if you’re not strong with the ball they are going to take it away.

“[Ottawa] was a little off with their shooting in the first half but made a better percentage in the second half to build a lead. We had the lead there midway through the third, but then we had a number of turnovers that they were able to convert on and extend their lead.”

Sandwich is in action Wednesday at Harvard in a Kishwaukee River Conference game. Ottawa is off until Saturday when it travels to take on rival La Salle-Peru in an Interstate 8 Conference contest.