NEW WASHINGTON — Crestview may have the area’s smallest starting five, with the tallest player coming in at 5-foot-8.
Still, the Cougars’ defensive tenacity cannot be measured.
Crestview used a variety of full-court and half-court pressures to keep Wynford off-balance, forcing 20 turnovers.
While neither team shot the ball well, Crestview’s ability to keep the larger Royals in check in the post was the difference in its 31-27 win in the final of the Division III sectional tournament at Buckeye Central High School.
With the win, the Cougars (18-4) advanced to the Shelby district and will play Upper Sandusky, which downed Lakota, 38-35, in the first game of the day. Wynford finished its season with a 15-8 record.
Wynford coach Amy Taylor-Sheldon said that controlling the tempo was the difference in the game.
“Our number one key component was who was going to control the tempo,” Taylor-Sheldon said. “Were we going to control the tempo on defense? And control their penetration and force them to shoot from the perimeter, which we did, that’s what we wanted.”
Wynford’s defense was equally as good. Crestview hit just one of 17 shots in the second period and finished just nine of 42 shooting for the game, for 21 percent.
Wynford, conversely, made 10 of 33 shots from the floor for 30 percent. But the Royals struggled getting the ball up the floor to get in position to shoot.
“We try to wear teams down,” Crestview coach Amy Bays said. “We know that we’re typically outsized every time we step on the floor, so we feel if we can put a lot of pressure on teams that’s going to make us successful.”
Wynford wanted to push the ball inside to post players Averi McMillan and Katie Wagner and that plan worked early, as the Royals held an early 5-2 lead. But Crestview grabbed a 13-9 lead after one.
The second period was nearly devoid of points, as Wynford’s Reese McGuire hit a 3-point shot for the only points of the period. Crestview scored four in the frame and held a 17-12 lead at the break. Neither team scored in the final 3:28 of the frame.
Crestview went to a spread offense in the second half, trying to control the tempo.
“For us to run a spread offense and get people a little uncomfortable on defense and have to play outside of their comfort zone typically makes us pretty successful,” Bays said.
Wynford outscored Crestview, 9-8, in the third period and cut the lead to 25-21 entering the final period.
The Royals cut the lead further, to 27-25, on a McMillan basket with 3:59 left in the game. But Crestview got an Emma Aumend basket and two free throws to seal it.
Taylor-Sheldon felt that Crestview’s defense was the difference in the game.
“So, they sped us up on offense and we didn’t manage that,” Taylor-Sheldon said. “We weren’t able to finish it like even get the ball across halfcourt to be able to do what we wanted to do. You’re not going to win a championship with 20 turnovers.
“They pressured us, and we didn’t respond to it as well as we anticipated.”
McMillan and Wagner paced the Royals with eight points each.
“Several shots didn’t go in for us today,” Taylor-Sheldon said. “It’s tough when everyone has a poor shooting day and today was one of them.
“We wanted to capitalize on some post feeds but because of perimeter pressure, we had a hard time getting in. Once it went in, we had to make some quick decisions. Our offensive execution wasn’t as good as it could have been, but we had a great year. We won 15 games; we certainly have a lot to be proud of.”
Box score
Wynford 9 3 9 6 — 27
Crestview 13 4 8 6 — 31
Wynford (15-8): Shots 10-33; 3-pt. shots 3 (Reese McGuire, Grace Stucky, Alexis Stevely); Free throws 4-6; Rebounds 28; Turnovers 20. Scoring: Reese McGuire 2 0 5, Grace Stucky 1 0 3, Averi McMillan 4 0 8, Alexis Stevely 1 0 3, Katie Wagner 2 4 8.
Crestview (18-4): Shots 9-42; 3-pt. shots 5 (Anna McFarland 3, Frankie Dinsmore, Skylar Ramsey, Emma Aumend); Free throws 8-14; Rebounds 18; Turnovers 7. Scoring: Frankie Dinsmore 1 3 6, Skylar Ramsey 2 0 5, Anna McFarland 3 1 9, Emma Aumend 3 4 11.