Crestview rolls by Stryker 70-32

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

DEFIANCE — For the third straight game in the postseason, Crestview overwhelmed an opponent from the Buckeye Border Conference. Including Thursday night’s 70-32 Division IV district semifinal win over No. 8 seed Stryker, the top seeded Lady Knights outscored three BBC opponents by a 232-65 margin.

Just like the previous two games, state ranked Crestview (No. 4 final Associated Press poll) jumped out to a sizable lead early and kept on going from there. It was 10-1 with 5:30 left in the opening quarter and the lead quickly increased to 21-3. By the end of the period, the Lady Knights led 24-6.

“I loved our effort, our energy and our enthusiasm,” Crestview head coach Mark Gregory said. “Those were the three big things we had up on our board and right from the get-go I thought Kaci, Ellie, Cali, Myia and Josie and the girls off the bench were ready to play. I’m so proud of our effort tonight.”

Kaci Gregory went down after rolling her ankle late in the first quarter but after a brief trip to the locker room, she returned to the court. She went on to finish with 14 points, including eight in the opening period. She was one of three Lady Knights to finish in double figures.

In the second quarter, Crestview’s lead grew to 36-8 before Stryker knocked down a pair of late treys to make it 37-14 at halftime.

In the first half, the Lady Knights (24-2) were 11-of-21 from the floor, while Stryker (13-12) was 0-9 from two point range. By the time the game ended, Crestview was 28-of-48 shooting (58 percent), while Stryker was 8-of-33 (24 percent).

A triple by Ellie Kline and back-to-back buckets by Cali Gregory quickly made it 48-19 in the third quarter and by the end of the period, Crestview had a commanding 53-24 advantage. Gregory scored eight of her 20 points in the third quarter, while Kline added six of her 17 points.

Most of the fourth quarter was played with a continuous clock.

Crestview finished the game 6-of-9 from the foul line while Stryker was 10-of-13 from the charity stripe. The Lady Knights enjoyed a big 27-15 rebounding advantage, including 11 by Myia Etzler, and Crestview had just three turnovers the entire game, compared to 13 by the Lady Panthers. Aubrey Clemens led Stryker with eight points.

“I don’t remember too many turnovers,” Gregory said. “I want us to continue to be strong when we get the ball down low. There’s going to be times in the tournament when it’s going to be physical and you have to fight through that physicality. We got to the free throw line nine times, I’d like to see us get there 10, 12 or 15 times.”

“I give Stryker so much credit, they play so hard and so physical,” Gregory added. “Give credit to Stryker for the effort they put out. They’re a solid team.”

The Lady Knights will face No. 2 seed Ayersville (24-1) in the district championship game at 6 p.m. Saturday at Defiance High School. The Pilots, No. 8 in the final A.P. poll, defeated No. 3 seed Montpelier 39-37 on Thursday. Saturday’s game will air live on 99.7FM WKSD.

“They’re a really good team and they’re really well coached,” Gregory said. “It’ll be a physical game.”

Box score

Crestview 24 13 20 13 – 70
Stryker 6 8 12 6 – 32

Crestview: Myia Etzler 4-0-8; Kaci Gregory 5-2-14; Ellie Kline 7-0-17; Cali Gregory 8-3-20; Haley McCoy 2-1-5; Kennedy Crider 3-0-6

Stryker: Grace Froelich 2-2-7; Abby Oberlin 0-2-2; Emma Fulk 2-0-6; Reiss Creighton 1-0-3; Aubrey Clemens 2-3-8; Addalee Fulk 0-1-1; Taylore Rethmel 1-2-5