CRESTLINE — On a night when defenses dominated the game, the team that made more plays on offense won the game.
That was Crestline.
The Bulldogs’ girls’ basketball team got some big plays down the stretch from guard Hannah Delong to best Galion, 40-36, Friday night.
With the win, the Bulldogs (3-11) snapped an 11-game losing streak after opening the season with wins over Galion and Bucyrus. The Tigers dropped to 1-13 on the season.
Crestline coach Kyle Strauch said that his team’s effort, particularly down the stretch, was the difference in the game.
“We talked about that before the game,” Strauch said. “If you outplay them, you give yourselves a chance to win.”
Both teams made runs during the game, but Galion got the lead, 34-33, on a Natalee Perkins three with 1:35 left in the game.
From there, guard Daija Sewell drove the lane and scored and was fouled. She hit the free throw and Crestline held a 36-34 lead with 1:26 left.
After Galion’s Heaven Phelps drained two free throws to tie the game at 36-36 with 1:06 remaining, Delong stood up.
The senior guard made a layup with 53 seconds to go, giving the Bulldogs a 38-36 lead, then hit two free throws with 26.7 seconds left in the game to seal the outcome.
“Down the stretch, we took good care of the basketball,” Strauch said. “Our big focus was on unforced turnovers. They’re still higher than what we want. But we did a good job controlling the basketball. Our goal was every possession ends in a shot.”
Galion coach Shani Rush said that her team has improved dramatically since the two teams met back in November, a 41-34 Crestline win.
“Our chemistry is a lot better and, in the beginning of the year, we had so many quarantines, we never got a flow,” Rush said. “Tonight, I didn’t think we had a flow on offense, but, overall, definitely we have improved.”
Rush said that her defense was particularly good most of the night.
“We put a new defense in the other day and the girls did a pretty good job with it,” Rush said. “Crestline hit a few 3s and I didn’t want them to hit anymore so we went man. I felt we could pressure them. We just kinda ran out of steam.”
Perkins led the Tigers with 12 points and Lexi Rush finished with eight.
“We know who (Galion is), and we know, individually, what their strengths are,” Strauch said. “We felt we could get up and pressure them a little bit.
“The first game we had to use the press to get back into the game,” Strauch added. “It was there if we needed it this time, but our half-court defense was pretty good.”
Sewell paced Crestline with 15 points and Delong added 11.
“I thought early on, we were a little tentative, a little gun shy,” Strauch said. “But Daija Sewell came out and she lit a fire for us in the second quarter.
“Our defense, Daija, Maddie (Engler) on their guards, was really good,” he added. “They weren’t able to get into their offense and they led the charge.”
Crestline also won the junior varsity game, 18-12.
Box score
Galion 9 9 8 10 — 36
Crestline 2 17 8 13 — 40
Galion (1-13): Shots 15-41; 3-pt. shots 2 (Natalie Perkins 2); Free throws 4-9; Rebounds 22; Turnovers 15. Scoring: Heaven Phelps 2 2 6, Dezi Lester 1 0 2, Lexi Rush 4 0 8, Virginia King 1 0 2, Natalie Perkins 4 2 12, Emma Jutz 1 0 2, Teanna Greter 2 0 4.
Crestline (3-11): Shots 14-36; 3-pt. shots 5 (Ivy Stewart 2, Kenned Snipes, Hannah Delong, Maddie Engler); Free throws 7-12; Rebounds 25; Turnovers 19. Scoring: Kennedi Snipes 1 0 3, Hannah Delong 3 4 11, Delani Kiser 1 0 2, Ivy Stewart 2 0 6, Daija Sewell 6 3 15, Maddie Engler 1 0 3.
JV: Crestline 18-12.