Lady Knights repeat as NWC champions

Crestview girls’ basketball

CONVOY — The Crestview Lady Knights ran their conference-winning streak to 17 games and earned their second consecutive Northwest Conference championship with a 49-26 victory over Bluffton on Thursday.

Crestview held the Lady Pirates to just 27 percent shooting while shooting a respectable 45 percent itself.  The Lady Knights dominated the boards, grabbing 30 rebounds and holding Bluffton to just 14 boards.

Crestview’s balanced scoring was led by Kennis Mercer’s 11 points, while Emily Bauer and Lindsey Motycka added 9 and 8 points, respectively. Crestview seniors Courtney Grote and Kirstin Hicks were victorious in their last home game at Ray Etzler Gymnasium as Crestview wrapped up the regular season with a 20-1 record.

The Knights were 20 of 44 from the field (45 percent), while holding Bluffton to 27 percent shooting on 10 of 37 field goal attempts. Crestview made 5 of 17 three-point attempts (29 percent), compared to a 2-of-10 three-point shooting performance (20 percent) by the Lady Pirates. The Knights were a perfect 4-of-4 at the line, while Bluffton made 4 of 6 free throw shots (67 percent).

Crestview dominated the boards, bringing down 30 rebounds to 14 for the Pirates, and had one more turnover, 12-11, than Bluffton.

The Lady Knights will play in sectional championship at Van Wert on Saturday, February 22, at 6:15 p.m., versus the winner of Delphos St. John’s and Lincolnview.

The Lady Knight junior varsity team was defeated by Bluffton, 40-37, and finish the season with a 14-6 record.