It’s tough to measure a team’s heart.
Few people outside the Ottawa-Glandorf girls basketball circle gave the team much of a chance against powerhouse Toledo Rogers in the Division II regional finals Friday at Ontario.
Rogers rolled into the gym with four Division I players, including two going to Michigan, one to Cincinnati (although she was injured) and one to Toledo. There was also Rogers prize freshman Zia Cooke, who is already being recruited by Ohio State.
This Rogers team had knocked out a talented Bath team in the regionals three years in a row, including 56-41 last season.
Even with Cincinnati-bound 6-foot-2 Sydney Petty out with an ankle injury, Rogers’ front line went 6-foot, 6-3 and 6-2.
O-G’s tallest players are 5-9 Western Buckeye League player of the year sophomore Kadie Hempfling and 5-9 Kylie White.
By now you are probably aware that O-G stunned Rogers 48-46 on Dani Ellerbrock’s 12-foot floater in the heart of the lane just before the buzzer to win the regional championship.
“I want to cry because I’m happy,” Ellerbrock said after hitting the game-winning shot. “We worked so hard for this and, honestly, I think we deserve this.”
The Titans outshot Rogers, 54 percent to 41 percent from the field.
The Titans outrebounded Rogers, 22-20.
And, overall, O-G outplayed, outhustled and wanted the game a lot more than a very talented AAU-like Rogers team.
“It was all heart,” White said. “We did not have the size that they had. We did not have the athletes they had, but we came out and we played with heart and I think that set us apart and helped us win.”
Hempfling put on a show with 19 points, 12 rebounds and several behind-the-back, spinning jumpers. She hit 7 of 9 from the field. White did a lot of the dirty work inside with 14 points down low.
Ellerbrock was steady at the point, guarded Cooke most of the way and hit the shot of the Titans’ season. Lexi Schroeder did a great job, defensively, on Michigan-bound 6-foot Akienreh Johnson, holding her to 18 points and only five in the second half.
In spite of the Rogers’ height advantage, O-G scored 30 points in the paint, compared to Rogers’ 14.
This was probably the biggest upset in northwest Ohio girls basketball since Bath knocked out Rogers in the 2012 girls regional, 63-59.
O-G (25-2) will meet Hathaway Brown (17-7) in the Division II state semifinals at 8 p.m. Thursday at Ohio State’s Value City Arena.
What about an ejection?
Three different times in the tournament I’ve seen players intentionally shoved on a breakaway layup or a breakaway dunk attempt. All three had no idea someone was coming up behind them until they were bulled over like they ran into snow plow on the highway.
The first time it was Xavier Simpson, who was pushed hard on a breakaway layup attempt. He was awarded two shots and the ball out on the intentional foul.
The other two times it happened to Lima Central Catholic’s Dantez Walton and Thomas Williams.
Even awarding the intentional foul is not enough.
In these cases where it is obvious that the player is pushed hard in a defenseless position where injury is very likely, the player should be ejected, as well.
One official told me Saturday that ejection is certainly an option in that case.
If so, let’s start ejecting players for these actions. My guess is there will be less intentional fouls like these if players know they will be ejected.
The last thing anyone wants is for someone to get hurt and be out for the remainder of the tournament because of a stupid shove from behind of a defenseless player on a breakaway.
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