By Dan Messerschmidt

COLUMBUS — Buckeye Central has been the underdog before. But beating Ottoville was a tall order — literally.

The Lady Green starters ranged from 5-7 Kasey Knippen to 6-0 Bridget Landin. And 6-0 Brynlee Hanneman came off the bench.

Ottoville used its size advantage and physicality to get the ball inside on offense and suffocated the Buckettes on defense. The formula resulted in a 44-25 victory in the Division IV state semifinal, ending Buckeye Central’s season one game short of its goal.

“With C.J. (Kemper), Bridget (Landin) and throw in Amber Miller, we have some tough matchups,” Ottoville coach Dave Kleman said. “We try to find the mismatch and post up.”

More often than not, the mismatch involved Landin, who scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to nearly singlehandedly beat the Buckettes.

“We got killed in the paint,” Buckeye Central coach Greg Moore said. “We needed to block out.”

Ottoville (27-2) had a commanding 27-17 advantage on the glass, including 14 offensive rebounds. That and 17 Buckeye Central (26-2) turnovers allowed the Lady Green to take 17 more shots than the Buckettes.

“We knew their tendencies, where they like to get the ball to score,” Kleman said. “We wanted to make it tough for them to get a shot and, for the most part, we did that.”

So much so that the Buckettes did not have a double-figure scoring quarter.

Buckeye Central scored the first five points of the game on a 3-point shot by Taylor Ratliff and a basket by Jenna Karl. But the Lady Green scored the next 10 in a row and never trailed again.

Karl led the Buckettes with 15 points. No one else had more than four. Pifher had four rebounds.

“Jenna was part of a senior class that won 74 games,” Moore said. “She’s a pleasure to coach, a special, special kid. She’s done everything we’ve asked.”

Karl, Emily Stump and Kendra Stahl played their last game in a Buckeye Central uniform. Karl finished her career as the school’s leading scorer, boys and girls.

“It didn’t end the way we thought,” Karl said. “But I couldn’t be more grateful.”

Knippen scored seven points in support of Landin for Ottoville. Kemper added six rebounds.

“It would be a great thing to win a state championship,” Kleman said. “But at my age, I wouldn’t be disappointed if we don’t. I want it more for the kids than myself. You go out, give it your best effort and if you fall short, that’s all you can do.”

“I’m proud of the kids,” Moore said. “There are some things we could have done different. But the moment was big, and they’ll grow from it.”

Ottoville advances to the Division IV championship game on Saturday against Minster, a 46-31 winner over Waterford in the second game.          

Ottoville                 12    11    13     8 — 44

Buckeye Central     7      5      8      5 — 25

Stats

Ottoville (27-2): Shots 19-44; 3-pt. shots 1-7 (Kasey Knippen); Free throws 5-8; Rebounds 27 (Bridget Landin 11); Turnovers 7. Scoring: C.J. Kemper 3 0 6, Bridget Landin 9-3-21, Quinley Schlagbaum 1 0 2, Amber Miller 1 0 2, Kasey Knippen 2 2 7, Brynlee Hanneman 2 0 4, Haley Hoersten 1 0 2.

Buckeye Central (26-2): Shots 10-27; 3-pt shots 2-6 (Jenna Karl, Taylor Ratliff); Free throws 3-6; Rebounds 17 (Courtney Pifher 4); Turnovers 17. Scoring: Jenna Karl 6 2 15, Taylor Ratliff 1 0 3, Courtney Pifher 1 1 3, Lexi Evak 2 0 4.