Crestview cruises to regional title

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

ELIDA — A late second quarter trey gave Crestview some breathing room and proved to be the catalyst for a big third quarter run during Saturday’s Division IV regional championship game against Columbus Grove.

Ellie Kline’s triple in the closing seconds of the second period extended No. 4 Crestview’s lead to 23-18, then the Lady Knights quickly seized control of the game with a 14-0 scoring run to open the third quarter. From there, Crestview went on to another impressive tournament win, 53-29, over the Bulldogs.

“That was huge and that was Ellie Kline to the ‘nth’ degree,” Crestview head coach Mark Gregory said. “That’s her – it doesn’t matter if she’s made shots or not, she’s going to step up and make big ones for us.”

Freshman Kaci Gregory accounted for nine points during the third quarter run, while Cali Gregory and Myia Etzler each scored a bucket, as the lead grew to 36-18 less than halfway through the period.

I’m so proud of her as a freshman to do what she did today,” Gregory said of his youngest daughter. “She’s just continued to get better and better as the season has gone on. You want to be playing the best basketball of the season now and I think we are at this time.”

“There’s not a selfish girl on this team,” the coach added. “Unselfishness, toughness, togetherness – that’s what we preach and the girls have bought in and it’s fun to watch. We got help from everybody. I thought our girls played great defensively. What a great job on one the best players in northwest Ohio (Lauryn Auchmuty) and I’m just so proud of our effort on both ends of the floor.”

Auchmuty finished with 12 points and was the only Columbus Grove player in double figures. The Lady Bulldogs were just 12-of-34 shooting with 13 rebounds.

Cali Gregory led all scorers with 20 points while Kaci Gregory added 12. The Lady Knights were 22-of-35 shooting, including 7-of-13 from three point range, after an 0-for-5 start. Crestview finished with 17 rebounds. The two teams each shot just two foul shots the entire game, with Crestview hitting both and Columbus Grove converting one.

Crestview started the game a little slow. In fact, the Lady Knights didn’t score until just over halfway through the first quarter, while Myia Etzler drained a pair of foul shots. Later in the period, Auchmuty buried back-to-back treys and gave Columbus Grove a 10-4 lead. By the end of the period, Crestview closed the gap to 11-9, including a late bank shot by Etzler, who finished with six points and eight rebounds.

The Lady Knights took the lead for good early in the second quarter when Kaci Gregory drained consecutive treys, giving Crestview a 15-11 advantage. Defensively, the Lady Knights held Columbus Grove off the scoreboard for nearly five minutes.

Crestview and Fort Loramie (26-2) will play at 1 p.m. Thursday at UD Arena at the University of Dayton. The winner will face No. 7 Loudonville or No. 6 Waterford for the Division IV state championship at 10:45 a.m. Saturday.

“It’s going to be fun and what a great opportunity it is to do this,” Gregory said.

Box score

Crestview 9 14 18 12 – 53
Col Grove 11 7 4 2 – 29

Crestview: Myia Etzler 2-2-6; Kaci Gregory 5-0-12; Ellie Kline 2-0-5; Cali Gregory 8-0-20; Kennedy Crider 2-0-4; Lillie Best 1-0-2; Josie Kulwicki 2-0-4

Columbus Grove: Lauryn Auchmuty 5-0-12; Ruth Myers 2-0-5; Allison Thompson 2-0-5; Kendall Palte 1-0-2; Abby Stechschulte 1-0-2; Nicole Nesby 1-1-3