Crestview girls beat Wayne Trace 44-40

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

CONVOY — Olivia Cunningham scored 13 points, Laci McCoy added 11 points and 14 rebounds and a possible Division IV district championship preview didn’t disappoint as Crestview defeated Wayne Trace 44-40 at Ray Etzler Gymnasium on Monday night.

Crestview (16-3) is the No. 1 seed at the Defiance district, while Wayne Trace (14-5) is the No. 2 seed.

“That’s a great win for us getting close to tournament time,” Crestview head coach Mark Gregory said. “We had some girls step up tonight and I thought we had a good effort from several people.”

The Lady Knights found themselves trailing 19-10 early in the second quarter but proceeded to put together an 18-0 scoring run, with Cunningham accounting for seven of those points and Bailey Gregory adding four of her eight points. Wayne Trace’s Rachel Stoller ended the run with a bucket right before halftime to trim Crestview’s lead to 28-21.

“I have a lot of confidence in our girls,” Gregory said.

Christina Graham opened the third quarter with a quick trey and a basket that made it 28-26, prompting a Crestview timeout. After that, a bucket by McCoy was sandwiched by two Cali Gregory foul shots and the Lady Knights went on to lead 38-32 at the end of the period. Graham finished with a team high nine points, while Rachel Stoller had eight points and eight rebounds and Katrina Stoller finished with eight points and six rebounds.

Wayne Trace pulled to within three, 42-39 with just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Lady Raiders had chances but were unable to capitalize. Cali Gregory, who finished with eight points, was able to secure the win with a pair of late free throws.

“You have to make the other team uncomfortable and I think there were times that they did the same thing to us,” Gregory said. “We have to continue to grow in those areas, but I applaud both groups, it was a good effort by both teams.”

Crestview won the battle of the boards, 26-20 and the Lady Knights forced 20 Wayne Trace turnovers. Crestview was 9-of-17 from the foul line, while Wayne Trace was 9-of-16.

Wayne Trace is scheduled to host Holgate tonight and Crestview will entertain Paulding in the Northwest Conference finale on Tuesday. A win by the Lady Knights would ensure at least a share of the NWC title.

Scoring summary

Crestview 10 18 10 6 – 44
Wayne Trace 17 4 11 8 – 40

Crestview: Bailey Gregory 4-0-8; Cali Gregory 2-4-8; Laci McCoy 4-3-11; Raegan Hammons 2-0-4; Olivia Cunningham 5-2-13

Wayne Trace: Abby Moore 1-0-2; Sydnee Sinn 1-0-3; Gracie Shepherd 2-3-7; Christina Graham 3-2-9; Katrina Stoller 3-0-8; Rachel Stoller 2-4-8; Carlee Meed 1-0-3

JV: Crestview 36-14