Columbus Grove’s Lauryn Auchmuty shoots the free throw that would be her 1000th career point Thursday night in Columbus Grove.
Nate Reynolds | The Lima News
COLUMBUS GROVE — One girl in Columbus Grove’s history had reached 1,000 career points as a junior before Thursday night.
In a 58-36 win over Leipsic, Lauryn Auchmuty made it two, joining Jade Clement in the record books.
Coincidentally the two are cousins, but Auchmuty earned bragging rights by accomplishing the feat in fewer games.
“Walking through the halls every day and seeing the 1,000-point record board, one of them being my cousin (Clement), I always wanted to be like her and score 1,000 as a junior,” Auchmuty said. “It means a lot to me personally.”
Auchmuty entered the night needing 12 points to cross the plateau. With 57.6 seconds left in the third quarter, she drew a foul and earned the record at the line.
“I felt the pressure when I first stepped up to the line, but I stepped back and took some deep breaths,” Auchmuty said of the moment. “I was really hoping my first shot went in so that the pressure of the moment was gone. It was great to get it out of the way because it’s been on my mind the past few games.”
It was an uplifting scene in a crowded gymnasium for Columbus Grove, a community that’s endured some tough times in the past week.
“It was a nice positive moment for us,” Columbus Grove coach Brian Schroeder said. “Obviously our hearts are still heavy with the loss in our community. It’s been a tough week for our students, teachers, administration, and the community. Our hearts go out to the families for what they’ve had to go through.”
Auchmuty finished the night with 16 points. Leipsic’s Jazelle Perez topped all scorers with 18 points.
Perez was in full control of the paint early on, scoring the first eight points for the Vikings before foul trouble forced her to the bench.
“Her getting into foul trouble played a huge part in our momentum swing,” Schroeder said of Perez. “She was just having a great game. She’s a strong, athletic lefty who releases her shot at a high point. We weren’t helping on her enough early on.”
Once Perez exited in the second quarter, Columbus Grove took control of the game.
The Bulldogs outscored Leipsic 16-7 in the second and 20-11 in the third quarter, building up a 20-point lead in the process.
Leipsic used a diamond-and-one on defense, with Ava Henry guarding Auchmuty up top.
The rest of the zone dropped back, leaving open looks from beyond the three-point line for the likes of Abby Stechschulte, Jade Siefker, Ruth Myers, Elyse Fortman, and Kendal Palte who combined for 10 triples.
“We knew Leipsic was going to come in and do some different things, but our goal was to keep it simple on offense,” Schroeder said. “Keep good spacing. Look to attack on the catch and make sure we’re getting the ball in the right spots. I thought it took us a while to get in the flow, but once we started hitting shots everything kind of loosened up.”
Stechschulte nailed four threes and finished with 12 points. Myers tallied seven and both Siefker and Palte ended with six. Overall Grove shot 18 of 47 from the floor (38%).
Henry scored seven points for Leipsic. Leah Kirkendall added four. Leipsic converted just 10 of 39 field goals (25%).
Grove also grabbed 31 rebounds compared to 18 from Leipsic, but the Vikings turned the ball over less (9-8).
Columbus Grove 58, Leipsic 36
Score by quarters:
Leipsic 8 7 11 10 – 36
Columbus Grove 10 16 20 12 – 58
Leipsic
Jazelle Perez 18, Ava Henry 7, Leah Kirkendall 4, Kylee Schroeder 2, Kaytlynn Schroeder 2, Ashlynn Stuber 1, Brooklyn Cunningham 1, Skylar Fausey 1, Totals: 10-15-36
Columbus Grove
Lauryn Auchmuty 16, Abby Stechschulte 12, Ruth Myers 7, Jade Siefker 6, Kendal Palte 6, Nicole Nesby 4, Allison Thompson 4, Elyse Fortman 3, Totals: 18-9-58
3-pointers: Leipsic — Henry 1. Columbus Grove — Stechschulte 4, Siefker 2, Myers 2, Fortman 1, Palte 1, Auchmuty 1.
Records: Leipsic 6-7, 0-5 NWC, Columbus Grove 9-5, 3-1 NWC
Reach Chris Howell at 567-242-0468 or on Twitter at @Lima_Howell
