Crestview shuts down Van Wert 46-34

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

A third quarter surge helped Crestview pull away from Van Wert, allowing the No. 14 Lady Knights to defeat Van Wert 46-34 in non-conference girls basketball action at the Cougars Den on Monday.

It was the fifth straight win by Crestview (11-3) and 11th win in 12 games, while Van Wert fell to 9-7.

Leading 30-23, Crestview went on an 8-0 run with free throws by Macy Kulwicki and Laci McCoy, and buckets by Josie Kulwicki, Cali Gregory and Ellie Kline. Van Wert closed the gap to 38-29 on back-to-back triples by Sayler Wise and Sofi Houg, but Gregory and McCoy each added a bucket to make it 42-29 entering the fourth quarter. Gregory and McCoy went on to each finish with 12 points.

“Things started to snowball and we had some silly turnovers that they capitalized on,” Van Wert head coach Hannah Phlipot said of the third quarter.

“We struggled shooting a little bit tonight and we missed a lot of layups that we don’t typically miss but for us to be able to do that and win the way we did, I can’t say enough about our kids,” Crestview head coach Mark Gregory said.

Crestview, who led from start to finish, opened the game by racing out to a 9-2 lead, with McCoy accounting for seven of those points. By the end of the quarter, the Lady Knights led 13-8, with Erin Schaufelberger and Maria Bagley accounting for all of Van Wert’s points. The Cougars pulled two within two, 13-11 and 15-13 in the second quarter, but could draw no closer. Bagley added five more points in the quarter and Wise beat the halftime buzzer with a trey at the top of the key, making it 28-21 at the break. Bagley went on to finish with a game high 14 points.

“We talked about some kids needing to step up and I thought Bags did a great job stepping up offensively,” Phlipot said. “She’s always been a threat rebounding and she held her own there but she did a great job knocking down some big jumpers for us.”

Houg and Kyra Welch, who average a combined 27 points per game were held to six points.

“I told our girls I didn’t want them getting comfortable because when they’re comfortable, they can hurt you big time,” Crestview head coach Mark Gregory said. “I’m just really proud of our effort…to hold those girls down, that’s a great defensive effort, especially after the week we had last week.”

Both teams return to action Thursday. Van Wert will play at No. 3 Ottawa-Glandorf, while Crestview will host Delphos Jefferson in a key NWC game.

Box score

Crestview 13 15 14 4 – 46
Van Wert 8 13 8 5 – 34

Crestview: Macy Kulwicki 0-1-1; Ellie Kline 2-2-6; Cali Gregory 6-0-12; Lace McCoy 5-1-12; Kennedy Crider 4-1-9; Josie Kulwicki 2-2-6

Van Wert: Sayler Wise 2-0-6; Debbie Jones 0-2-2; Jordanne Blythe 1-0-2; Sofi Houg 1-3-6; Maria Bagley 5-4-14; Erin Schaufelberger 2-0-4

JV: Crestview 29-19