REPEAT: Woods ignites Lady Trojans past Ottawa-Glandorf to win state title

DAYTON — One of the hardest things to do in sports is to repeat as state champions.

The Portsmouth Lady Trojans won their second straight Division 5 state basketball championship on Saturday.

Let’s repeat that. The Portsmouth Lady Trojans won their second straight Division 5 state basketball championship on Saturday.

Saying it was a lot easier than actually doing it, but the Lady Trojans were up to the challenge as they got past the previously unbeaten Ottawa-Glandorf Lady Titans 53-48 in the title game at the University of Dayton Arena.

Portsmouth head coach Amy Hughes said the team actually set the goal of winning a state championship eight years ago. After getting that goal, they were hungry for more.

“Our goal last year was to win the state and we accomplished that,” said Hughes. “It’s hard to repeat in sports. Winning the first state title was special, but going back-to-back is so tough to do and it’s indescribable to put into words.”

The tournament’s Most Valuable Player was Portsmouth junior KeKe Woods who had a monster title game. Woods scored 26 points on 11-of-11 shooting from the field, 8 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 assists.

“We play here in Dayton every summer, so we’re very familiar and really comfortable on this court. It’s basically our second home,” Woods said.

“I just wanted to play to my full potential and leave it all on the court. I made sure to hustle on every possession for my team to make sure that we accomplished winning the championship.”

Portsmouth led throughout most of the game but Ottawa-Glandorf climbed to within two points in the fourth quarter and the game was tight the rest of the quarter.

Erfrod sank two foul shots to cut the spread to 43-41 but Hayven Carter and Woods made layups for a 47-43 lead.

Lammers’ triple cut the deficit to 47-46 with 4:08 to go.

But senior Sienna Allen, an Ohio University recruit and Southeast District Player of the Year, made four clutch free throws and Carter two more that helped seal the victory.

Allen said there was no added pressure when she stepped to the foul line.

“Free throws are an everyday thing in practice, so it’s really just keeping routine when you step to the line,” Allen said.

“I stay after every practice until I hit 10 in a row, and sometimes I’ll keep going after that. It’s all about keeping yourself calm in those moments and blocking out the crowd noise.”

Hughes said Allen’s is just an example of the entire team’s personality.

“This team is mentally and physically tough. To pull this off the way they did rebounding and defense is beyond phenomenal,” said Hughes.

“When things got tough in the third and fourth quarter, our girls never blinked an eye. They remained tough and focused on the goal. All the credit goes to them.”

The game was tied four times in the first quarter and the lead exchanged hands five times with the Lady Bobcats’ Madison McKee hit a foul shot to give her team a 15-14 lead at the end of the quarter.

Karsyn Erfrod made two foul shots for a 17-14 lead and Gracie Lammers’ 3-pointer put the lead at 20-18 with 6:28 on the clock.

Bry Shannon hit a 3-pointer for Portsmouth to take a 21-20 lead and Woods made a layup and two free throws to open up a 27-22 lead with 3:12 left in the half.

Allen and Woods each made layups for a 31-24 lead at the half.

Woods hit back-to-back jumpers and converted a 3-point play for a 39-31 lead. Erford hit a 3-pointer and McKee made a layup as the Lady Bobcats cut the deficit to 39-37 at the end of the quarter.

Besides Woods, Allen had 13 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists.

Erford had 18 points to pace Ottawa-Glandorf to go with 4 steals. McKee had 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Portsmouth 14 17 8 14 = 53

Ottawa-Glandorf 15 9 9 11 = 48

PORTSMOUTH (24-4): Sienna Allen 4-9 -0 5-6 13, Salem Allen 0-0 0-1 0-0 0, KeKe Woods 11-11 0-0 4-7 26, Hayven Carter 1-4 0-0 0-0 2, K.K. Mays 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Bry Shannon 0-0 2-4 0-0 6. Totals: 18-29 15-19 53. 3-pt goals: 2-5. Rebounds: 5-O 14-D = 19 (Woods 8, Carter 3, Si. Allen 3). Assists: 12 (Mays 3, Shannon 3, Woods 2, Si. Allen 2). Steals: 8 (Woods 5, Carter 2, Shannon 1). Blocks: 5 (Shannon 2). Turnovers: 14. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: None.

OTTAWA-GLANDORF (28-1): Alivia Grothause 3-6 0-0 0-0 6, Karsyn Erford 3-5 2-5 6-8 18, Gracie Lammers 0-1 2-3 0-0 6, Savannah Recker 0-2 0-2 0-0 0, Madison McKee 6-11 0-0 4-7 16, Allison Kuhlman 1-4 0-4 0-0 2, Rilee Brinkman 0-0 0-0 0–0 0. Totals: 17-42 10-15 48. 3-pt goals: 4-13. Rebounds: 14-O 8-D = 22 (McKee 10, Grothause 4). Assists: 11 (Lammers 5, Recker 3, Kuhlman 2). Steals: 8 (Erford 4, Grothause 3). Blocks: 0. Turnovers: 12. Fouls: 14. Fouled out: None.