Fort Loramie rallies by Crestview 50-41

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

DAYTON — A 10-0 run to start the fourth quarter and a suffocating defense helped propel No. 1 Fort Loramie past No. 4 Crestview 50-41 in Thursday’s Division IV state semifinal game at UD Arena.

The loss ended Crestview’s season at 26-3, while Fort Loramie (27-2) advanced to Saturday’s 10:45 a.m. title game against Waterford.

Crestview led 33-29 to begin the final period, but Fort Loramie’s Avery Brandewie scored eight unanswered points, then Victoria Mescher’s layup off a turnover gave the Redskins a 39-33 lead with 4:18 left in the game. Meanwhile, Fort Loramie’s defense allowed a single basket during the first 7:30 of the quarter – a layup by Cali Gregory with about 2:30 left in the game. Gregory later hit a pair of treys in the final 30 seconds, but the Redskins sealed the win with foul shots.

“I think the biggest difference was their defensive intensity in the second half,” Crestview head coach Mark Gregory said. “They ramped up their intensity and we knew they would. Maybe their depth wore us down a little bit because they play eight or nine girls and we play six or seven.”

“In the game of basketball you have to hit shots and I think in the second half we didn’t hit as many shots as we did in the first half and some of that is a credit to them,” he added.

“I asked if they wanted to be done today and the resounding answer was no,” Fort Loramie head coach Carla Siegel said, referring to her message entering the fourth quarter. “Today was a game of adversity, we were down by a lot and we fought back. I can’t say enough about the way these girls did not show any defeat on the floor no matter what the score was.”

“Crestview is well coached team – they run great sets, they have great players,” she added.

Crestview led 11-7 after the first quarter, including a late trey by Ellie Kline. Kaci Gregory extended the lead to 14-7 with an early second quarter triple and later in the period, Cali Gregory popped in back-to-back three pointers, giving the Knights a 20-12 advantage. By halftime, the lead was 23-19.

Baskets by Skyler Ablers, Mescher, Summer Hoying and Brandewie gave Fort Loramie a 27-23 lead with 4:45 left in the third quarter, but an 8-0 run by Crestview put the Knights back on top 31-27 less than two minutes later.

Brandewie scored 16 of her 22 points in the fourth quarter while Mescher added nine points. Cali Gregory scored 22 points and six rebounds and Kaci Gregory added 10 points. Myia Etzler added six rebounds for the Knights.

Fort Loramie finished 16-of-33 (48.5 percent) shooting and 16-of-21 from the free throw line, including 13-of-16 in the fourth quarter. Crestview was 13-of-50 (26 percent) from the floor and 9-of-10 from the foul line.

“I’m just so proud of our girls, of our community and our families – they made it special all year long,” Gregory said. “This team has been on a fun run and it’s so enjoyable and I can’t tell you how much I care for these girls and how much they mean to me.”

Box score

Ft. Loramie 7 12 10 21 – 50
Crestview 11 12 10 8 – 41

Fort Loramie: Ariel Heitkamp 1-0-2; Victoria Mescher 4-1-9; Skyler Albers 1-4-6; Jaden Rose 1-1-4; Maddie Shatto 1-0-3; Avery Brandewie 6-10-22; Summer Hoying 2-0-4

Crestview: Kaci Gregory 2-2-7; Ellie Kline 2-5-10; Cali Gregory 9-0-22; Myia Etzler 0-2-2