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Mar. 14—COLUMBUS GROVE — Columbus Grove has just had something that head coach Brian Schroeder calls "that" this year.
He has a hard time pinpointing exactly what "that" is, but it's best described as the ability to make plays he's never seen any of his past teams make.
Sometimes it's on the practice court, and other times it's during a game.
"It could be a perfect transition pass from Lauryn (Auchmuty) that goes straight to one of her teammates and instead of it deflecting off that players' hands, she catches it, takes two steps and lays it in. You just see little hints of their athleticism and their skillset, and it helps you understand that we had the potential to be pretty good.
"It's something we first started noticing last year. We had a nice group of seniors at the time, Lauryn was a junior, and our sophomores were pretty talented. We needed that year of game experience to develop, and last year we had maybe a better season than I anticipated, so we knew we had the opportunity to do something special this year."
Whatever "that" is, it has Columbus Grove one win away from a Division VI state championship, when it faces Rootstown at 2 p.m. Saturday at University of Dayton Arena.
Columbus Grove's 26-2 record, its first-ever regional title and the opportunity to play on the final day of the season are also what has earned Brian Schroeder the 2025 Dream Team Coach of the Year for The Lima News.
Schroeder and the coaching staff's guidance, the preparation of the scout team and each player's acceptance of their respective role have formed a cohesive product on the court for the Bulldogs.
"Allison (Thompson) has decision-making, speed and length. Kendal (Palte) is a tough physical defender who can handle the ball and rebound," Schroeder said. "Ruth (Myers) doesn't do a ton of scoring for us, but she's tenacious at the top of our zone defense. Elyse (Fortman) stepped in and hit a big three against Minster. Each and every girl has their hands on this season, even our scout team. They've all made us better."
Those four pieces of the supporting cast have complemented Lauryn Auchmuty, Nicole Nesby and Aubrey Schreoder, Columbus Grove's top three scorers, nicely over the course of the season.
In her senior year, Auchmuty, the Northwest Conference, Putnam County League and The Lima News Dream Team Player of the Year, averaged 23.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.4 steals and 2.5 assists per game.
Nesby, the Bulldogs' reliable 6-foot post presence, adds 10 points and 7 rebounds per night, while 5-10 do-it-all freshman Aubrey Schroeder chips in 8.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
"The chemistry is all there," Lauryn Auchmuty said. "We can read back doors and what other teams want to do, but we also know if our teammates aren't having a good game, we've been there so we know how to lift them up."
Coach Schroeder added, "I've told them all the time that they don't have to be best friends outside of basketball; they just have to be cohesive and work as a unit on the court. They goof off at team meals, and they have dance parties sometimes before practices and games. Sometimes the less I know, the better with that stuff, but they definitely have their fun."
This year, the Bulldogs have put up 58 points per game while limiting opponents to 29 points per game. Their two losses came in back-to-back games to Ottoville and Ottawa-Glandorf in early January. From that point on, they've won 15 straight games.
Schroeder's team entered the season with high aspirations of qualifying for the state tournament, but he set the bar even higher for his group during the summer, letting them know they had every capability to win the whole thing.
"They wanted to do something that's never been done before, meaning win a regional championship, but I was on them early saying we could win the state championship and we're as good as anybody; we just needed to keep getting better," Schroeder said.
Schroeder also credits the community for its support of his team during its winningest season in the program's history.
"This community has a lot of pride in their sports no matter which one it is," he said. "Grove really shows up and supports, so it's going to be a special day for everyone on Saturday. We're just really excited to be able to compete on the big stage and I think we're playing our best basketball right now."
Reach Chris Howell at 567-242-0468 or on X @Lima_Howell
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He has a hard time pinpointing exactly what "that" is, but it's best described as the ability to make plays he's never seen any of his past teams make.
Sometimes it's on the practice court, and other times it's during a game.
"It could be a perfect transition pass from Lauryn (Auchmuty) that goes straight to one of her teammates and instead of it deflecting off that players' hands, she catches it, takes two steps and lays it in. You just see little hints of their athleticism and their skillset, and it helps you understand that we had the potential to be pretty good.
"It's something we first started noticing last year. We had a nice group of seniors at the time, Lauryn was a junior, and our sophomores were pretty talented. We needed that year of game experience to develop, and last year we had maybe a better season than I anticipated, so we knew we had the opportunity to do something special this year."
Whatever "that" is, it has Columbus Grove one win away from a Division VI state championship, when it faces Rootstown at 2 p.m. Saturday at University of Dayton Arena.
Columbus Grove's 26-2 record, its first-ever regional title and the opportunity to play on the final day of the season are also what has earned Brian Schroeder the 2025 Dream Team Coach of the Year for The Lima News.
Schroeder and the coaching staff's guidance, the preparation of the scout team and each player's acceptance of their respective role have formed a cohesive product on the court for the Bulldogs.
"Allison (Thompson) has decision-making, speed and length. Kendal (Palte) is a tough physical defender who can handle the ball and rebound," Schroeder said. "Ruth (Myers) doesn't do a ton of scoring for us, but she's tenacious at the top of our zone defense. Elyse (Fortman) stepped in and hit a big three against Minster. Each and every girl has their hands on this season, even our scout team. They've all made us better."
Those four pieces of the supporting cast have complemented Lauryn Auchmuty, Nicole Nesby and Aubrey Schreoder, Columbus Grove's top three scorers, nicely over the course of the season.
In her senior year, Auchmuty, the Northwest Conference, Putnam County League and The Lima News Dream Team Player of the Year, averaged 23.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.4 steals and 2.5 assists per game.
Nesby, the Bulldogs' reliable 6-foot post presence, adds 10 points and 7 rebounds per night, while 5-10 do-it-all freshman Aubrey Schroeder chips in 8.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
"The chemistry is all there," Lauryn Auchmuty said. "We can read back doors and what other teams want to do, but we also know if our teammates aren't having a good game, we've been there so we know how to lift them up."
Coach Schroeder added, "I've told them all the time that they don't have to be best friends outside of basketball; they just have to be cohesive and work as a unit on the court. They goof off at team meals, and they have dance parties sometimes before practices and games. Sometimes the less I know, the better with that stuff, but they definitely have their fun."
This year, the Bulldogs have put up 58 points per game while limiting opponents to 29 points per game. Their two losses came in back-to-back games to Ottoville and Ottawa-Glandorf in early January. From that point on, they've won 15 straight games.
Schroeder's team entered the season with high aspirations of qualifying for the state tournament, but he set the bar even higher for his group during the summer, letting them know they had every capability to win the whole thing.
"They wanted to do something that's never been done before, meaning win a regional championship, but I was on them early saying we could win the state championship and we're as good as anybody; we just needed to keep getting better," Schroeder said.
Schroeder also credits the community for its support of his team during its winningest season in the program's history.
"This community has a lot of pride in their sports no matter which one it is," he said. "Grove really shows up and supports, so it's going to be a special day for everyone on Saturday. We're just really excited to be able to compete on the big stage and I think we're playing our best basketball right now."
Reach Chris Howell at 567-242-0468 or on X @Lima_Howell
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