Lady Knights trump Hicksville Aces 49-31

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

DEFIANCE — A swarming Crestview defense forced 26 turnovers and the Lady Knights pulled away from Hicksville for a 49-31 win in the Division IV district semifinals at Defiance High School on Thursday.

In addition to the turnovers, the Lady Aces (16-8) were held to just 9-of-29 shooting in the game.

Crestview led 7-6 after the first quarter but opened the second quarter with a 10-2 scoring run, including a triple by Emily Greulach and a steal and layup by Ellie Kline. Cali Gregory added a pair of baskets late in the quarter and the Lady Knights led 21-16 at halftime.

Any hope of a Hicksville comeback was squashed early in the third quarter. Myia Etzler scored two quick baskets to open the period and the Lady Knights upped the lead to 27-16 and later 32-18 on a three point bomb by Kline. Etzler scored six of her nine points in the quarter while Kline added five and Crestview carried a comfortable 36-23 lead into the final stanza.

“That was the difference, our defensive intensity in the third quarter,” Crestview head coach Mark Gregory said. “That’s something we talked about at halftime. There were times in the first half when I thought we lost people in transition but I thought we did a better job in the third quarter. We had a nice group effort.”

Gregory and Laci McCoy each scored four points in the fourth quarter and Gregory finished with a team high 16, while McCoy finished with eight. The Lady Knights finished the game 18-of-45 from the floor and 10-of-15 from the free throw line and Crestview enjoyed a 23-19 rebounding advantage.

Hicksville Kenzie Schroeder led all scorers with 20 points, including seven in the second quarter.

Crestview (20-4) will now face rival Lincolnview in the district championship game at 8 p.m. Saturday at Defiance. The two teams met on February 10 and the Lady Knights recorded a 65-42 win.

“They’ve really gotten better as the season has gone along and they continue to grow,” Gregory said of Lincolnview. “They have a lot of girls who are stepping up and playing well. It’s a pretty cool thing for Van Wert County to have this game and I have the utmost respect for Kyle (Williams) and what he’s doing with their program.

“We’re going to have a really good battle on Saturday,” Gregory added.

Saturday’s Crestview-Lincolnview game will air live on 99.7 WKSD.

Box score

Crestview 7 14 15 13 – 49
Hicksville 6 10 8 8 – 31

Crestview: Emily Greulach 2-0-6; Brynn Putman 0-4-4; Ellie Kline 2-1-6; Cali Gregory 6-2-14; Laci McCoy 4-0-8; Myia Etzler 3-3-9

Hicksville: Avery Slattery 1-0-3; Kenzie Schroeder 6-7-20; Izzie Smith 1-0-2; Lindsay Bergman 0-4-4; Molly Crall 1-0-2