NORTH ROBINSON — Colonel Crawford and Buckeye Central pride themselves on their effort on the defensive end of the floor. But the Lady Eagles have taken defense to the next level.
Crawford came into Saturday’s game with the Buckettes with a 4-0 record. And the Lady Eagles have done it with defense. Entering the game, Crawford had permitted just 24 points per game. Two teams failed to score at least 20. And the most it has allowed is 32 points.
CC did little to hurt that average against the Buckettes.
BC made just 29 percent of its shots (10-34) and committed 13 turnovers, as the Lady Eagles came away with a 37-25 win.
With the win, Crawford improved its record to 5-0, 2-0 in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference, and BC fell to 1-3 overall, 1-2 in the conference.
Both BC coach Phil Loy and Crawford coach Zac Bauer felt this would be a low scoring, physical game.
“We expected it to be low scoring; hats off to them,” Loy said. “They play hard defensively, and they try really hard to take things away from you. I really felt like we had some good looks, especially in the second half, but we just can’t make shots.
“Our shooting percentage from three, or two, or even from the free throw line, was not good,” Loy added. “Credit to Colonel Crawford for some of that, but you still have to make free throws. We were only there eight times and made two. That’s not very good.”
Bauer said that teams face the Lady Eagles knowing what they will do defensively. It’s a matter of executing against that aggressive defense.
“It’s a statement to the mentality of our team; everybody knows we’re going to come out and play man-to-man and we want to do that,” Bauer said. “They know how to prepare for what we do. But, at the same time, they have to execute against our kids and their mentality. It’s a statement to the kids who want to come out and play man-to-man defense for 32 minutes a night, every night. That’s the mentality we’ve had from day one and it’s a credit to our leadership to keep that up.”
While Crawford didn’t shoot it well, either, hitting just 30 percent of its shots (11-37), the Lady Eagles were able to get points in transition, and two underclassmen stepped up.
Freshman Saylor Holt hit a pair of threes and scored eight of her game-high 13 points. Sophomore Robin Ehmann added eight more, knocking down five of eight shots from the line.
“(Holt’s) assertiveness and her self-confidence has been really key for us,” Bauer said. “We preach to the kids, ‘you have to be ready for your opportunity.’ You have to be ready for your moment. We had a girl step up on Tuesday (Robin Ehmann) and she is a sophomore. And we have a freshman here step up and lead our team in scoring. And it could be someone else the next night.”
Buckeye came out quickly, as Grace Collene and Ella Collene each dropped threes and BC led by four. Crawford, however, got a Holt three and held a 12-9 lead after one.
Crawford outscored Buckeye, 4-2, in the second period and held a 16-11 lead at the half.
Buckeye never got lead back but cut the deficit to 21-18 on an Ella Collene basket late in the third period. Crawford, however, took a 28-22 lead into the final frame as Holt scored five points in the final two minutes.
The fourth period was a free throw shooting contest for the Lady Eagles, who made eight of 12 from the stripe in the final two minutes.
Crawford also did a masterful job of defending on the N10’s best players, Naveah Metzger. Crawford trapped and doubled the BC star, and she finished with six points.
“That is a testament to Gabby Roston, who I still maintain is one of the best on-ball defenders in the area,” Bauer added. “It’s a statement also to the other four girls out there. Help-side defense, the rotations. Being able to close the driving lanes. (Metzger) is a really talented girl. But our team defense — we have that mindset of we’re going to close the lanes and do what we do.”
“Nevaeh is going to draw a lot of focus,” Loy said. “She’s been playing well. They are going to try and take things away from her. Anytime you try to ball screen stuff, they’re looking to trap. You have to be good at pulling away from that and hitting the person that is open, then attacking the basket. I didn’t think we did a real good job of that.”
Box score
Buckeye Central 9 2 11 3 — 25
Colonel Crawford 12 4 12 9 — 37
Buckeye Central (1-3, 1-2 N10): Shots 10-34; 3-pt. shots 3 Alyese Siefert, Grace Collene, Ella Collene); Free throws 2-8; Rebounds 25; Turnovers 13. Scoring: Alyese Siefert 2 0 5, Grace Collene 2 0 5, Nevaeh Metzger 2 2 6, Ella Collene 3 0 7, Macy Depinet 1 0 2.
Colonel Crawford (5-0, 2-0 N10): Shots 11-37; 3-pt. shots 3 (Saylor Holt 2, Mira Holt); Free throws 12-22; Rebounds 24; Turnovers 7. Scoring: Saylor Holt 4 3 13, Gabby Roston 2 0 4, Mira Holt 2 0 5, Robin Ehmann 2 4 8, Lexi Dure 1 5 7.
JV: Colonel Crawford 46-19.