NORTH ROBINSON — There’s a lot of bad news for girls’ teams in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference. Colonel Crawford’s offense is beginning to catch up with its defense.
The Lady Eagles shot 65 percent (13 of 20) from the floor in the first half and 57.5 percent (23 of 40) from the floor for the game.
The defense was still dominant as well. Crawford permitted Upper Sandusky just six points in the second half en route to a 54-26 win Saturday afternoon.
With the win, Crawford improved to 12-1 overall, 8-1 in the conference. Upper fell to 8-5 overall, 5-3 in the N10.
Colonel Crawford coach Zac Bauer said that, while the offense is getting better, the Crawford defense is still what the team relies on.
“We’re gonna catch nights when both are playing well, but it starts with our defense,” Bauer said. “You can’t undersell what Gabby Roston did on the defensive end of the floor. And the assignment she drew. She always has that every night but tonight we got support from other girls. But it starts and stops there.”
Crawford guard Mira Holt scored 13 of her game-high 18 points in the first half. Emmi Powers came off the bench and added 11 more.
“Offensively, we got support from the girl that has really been the cornerstone of the program from day one in Mira Holt,” Bauer said. “When she’s aggressive like she is, it really lifts the confidence of the other players on the team. That’s a heavy crown to wear sometimes but being that leader that the other players look to for the last two or three years, it’s Mira. And it’s Gabby.”
Crawford’s ability to shoot the basketball kept the Lady Rams at bay in the first two periods before the Lady Eagles’ defense stifled them in the second.
“They were able to take a nominal four-to-six-point lead and turn it into a 10–12-point lead,” Upper Sandusky coach Jerry Vent said. “And we just weren’t able to respond well in the second half.
“We kind of came out of our zone a little bit and try to guard them man. But they are so good off the dribble, it’s hard to play them man because they have four girls that can take you off the dribble and penetrate and kick.”
Holt knocked down a three early in the game and scored four times in the second period as Crawford increased a 16-12 lead after one period to 30-20 at the half.
But it proved to be the third period that was the difference. The Lady Eagles outscored Upper, 16-1, in the frame and grabbed a 46-21 lead after three. Upper’s Ellee Ham knocked down a free throw for the Lady Rams’ only point of the period.
“They got into the paint, and they got stuff at the rim, and they were able to get into the paint and kick out to their three-point shooters and they made shots,” Vent said.
“And they’re a good defensive team; we only had six points in the second half,” he added. “But it’s one of those things. When you’re not playing well at one end, it usually reflects on the other end. We just couldn’t find any rhythm on offense, especially in the second half, and we couldn’t do anything on defense today.”
The Lady Eagles also did an excellent job on Upper guard Abby Newman. She scored six in the first quarter, but she didn’t score the rest of the game. Grace Walton, fourth in the league in scoring at 14.6 ppg. was shut out.
“But it’s one of those things,” Vent said. “When you’re not playing well at one end, it usually reflects on the other end. We just couldn’t find any rhythm on offense, especially in the second half, and we couldn’t do anything on defense today.”
Box score
Upper Sandusky 12 8 1 5 — 26
Colonel Crawford 16 14 16 8 — 54
Upper Sandusky (8-5, 5-3 N10): Shots 8-25; 3-pt. shots 2 (Rylee McCreary, Ellee Ham); Free throws 8-11; Rebounds 18; Turnovers 16. Scoring: Addy Newman 1 4 6, Rylee McCreary 1 0 3, Abi Gottfried 1 0 2, Bryn Cundiff 2 3 7, Ellee Ham 3 1 8.
Colonel Crawford (12-1, 8-1 N10): Shots 23-40; 3-pt. shots 3 (Mira Holt, Emmi Powers, Carley Zender); Free throws 5-10; Rebounds 19; Turnovers 8. Scoring: Saylor Holt 1 0 2, Gabby Roston 1 1 3, Emmi Powers 4 2 11, Mira Holt 8 1 18, Robin Ehmann 4 1 9, Lexi Dure 2 0 4, Elizabeth Ehman 2 0 4, Carley Zender 1 0 3.
JV: Colonel Crawford 41-22.