TC Eagles shut down Crestview 50-36

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

ELIDA — It just wasn’t Crestview’s night.

The Lady Knights, ranked No. 7 in the final Associated Press poll of the season, were unable to get on track offensively and fell to No. 9 Toledo Christian 50-36 in the Division IV regional semifinals at the Elida Fieldhouse on Wednesday. Crestview was held to single digits in each of the final three quarters.

“Sometimes you have to give credit where credit is due and Toledo Christian did a great job tonight defensively,” Crestview head coach Mark Gregory said. “They hit a lot of shots and like I said sometimes you just have to tip your cap. Our girls have played hard all year long for me and tonight we came up short.”

Paced by Kendall Braden’s eight first quarter points and a pair of treys by Macy Wensick, including one at the buzzer, the Eagles led 17-13 entering the second quarter. Braden, a Division I recruit with 15 scholarship offers, added six more points in the second quarter and Toledo Christian carried a 27-20 lead into halftime. Crestview’s only points of the second quarter came on a basket and a pair of free throws by Ellie Kline and a bucket and foul shot by Cali Gregory.

“They did a nice job, they pressured us on every situation, they rebounded the ball well, they tied up the ball, they were just so active defensively,” the elder Gregory said.

Gregory pulled Crestview (21-5) to within four, 30-26 midway through the third quarter, but Toledo Christian (21-4) responded with seven unanswered points, including Wensink’s third triple of the game.

Any hopes of a Crestview comeback were dashed in the fourth quarter when treys by Jordan Rosales and Braden helped push the lead to 45-31. Braden went on to finish with a game high 21 points, while Wensink added 11.

“She does a great job and she’s a great player,” Gregory said of Braden. “When somebody is 6-of-6 from the field in the first half you’re trying to figure out what you can do to slow her down. I think in the second half we did a better job on her but she’s just a really nice player.”

“We tried different things on her to mix it up and she found opportunities and took advantage of them,” he added.

Gregory led Crestview with 14 points, including five in the first quarter, while Kline finished with 13 points. In her final game, Laci McCoy pulled down nine rebounds. The Lady Knights were held to 13-of-40 shooting, including 2-of-14 from three point range.

“This is the toughest night of the year to say goodbye to my seniors who have busted their tails all year long for me,” Gregory said. “I told them here we are – we played one of the toughest schedules in the State of Ohio and we just continued to get better and better. We’re not the biggest team on the floor at all times but we have big hearts and I’m so proud of those seniors for what they gave us and what they did in their careers and I’m so proud of our underclassmen for learning from those seniors.”

Toledo Christian will face Columbus Grove in the regional finals at 1 p.m. Saturday at Elida.

Box score

Eagles 17 10 10 13 – 50
Knights 13 7 8 8 – 36

Toledo Christian: Kaylona Butler 1-2-4; Ava Neitzke 0-1-1; Kendall Braden 9-1-21; Mackenzie Royal-Davis 2-1-5; Jordan Rosales 2-2-8; Macey Wensink 3-2-11

Crestview: Macy Kulwicki 1-0-2; 4-4-13; Cali Gregory 6-1-14; Laci McCoy 1-0-2; Kennedy Crider 1-0-2; Josie Kulwicki 0-2-2; Haley McCoy 0-1-1