SHELBY — Composure was one of the points that Colonel Crawford head coach Zac Bauer stressed in recent practice sessions.
That trait certainly was needed in the girls Division III district semifinal here Thursday night. The Lady Eagles came back from a 19-14 halftime deficit to force overtime and defeat Clear Fork 39-33 in an exciting contest.
“We talked all week at practice that is was going to be a dogfight and we’ve been in plenty. Credit to the N10 for getting us ready for this moment. We’ve been in a lot of these, and we knew Clear Fork was a team with a high basketball IQ,” Bauer said.
The Lady Eagles (19-5) play Margaretta for a district championship on Saturday at 6 p.m. The Lady Bears won 49-22 over Upper Sandusky in the second game Thursday night.
“Composure and poise for the girls is something we really stressed the past two weeks,” Bauer said.
No one played with more composure than sophomore Lexi Duré.
“Lexi Duré is a special player. There’s not a whole lot of girls in our program who put in more time than Lexi. Sundays. You hear the ball bouncing. It’s Lexi. Evenings. We did Secret Santa this year and after that was over you hear a ball bouncing, and that’s her shooting by herself.”
The extra work paid off in a big game as Duré scored 16 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and had a steal.
“She deserves every bit of this. A few years ago, when I was on the boys staff we had a sophomore, Mason Studer, step up and shine for us in a district semifinal game and we had one step up and shine for us tonight. She has a heck of a future in front of her,” Bauer said.
Duré did a pretty good job embracing the present.
She nearly single-handedly got Colonel Crawford back into the game in the third quarter, scoring 9 of her team’s 14 points.
“We came into the gym just thinking we need to play our game and execute on offense and defense. I think getting stops on defense helped us execute our offense, Duré said.
“As a team we always play as a whole. We’ve never had starters and bench players. It’s always been a team, and anyone can have their night, and anyone can come out and score.”
Duré sank two free throws with 7.6 seconds left in overtime that sealed the win for the Lady Eagles. She missed a pair at the start of the extra period.
“The first two, I missed them. But I knew playing defense and getting stops I could go down the floor and hopefully get to the line again, and I made the next two,” she said.
Mira Holt added 10 points and three boards and Gabby Roston eight points. Roston also hit a pair of free throws in overtime and added two rebounds and a pair of steals.
Clear Fork (17-8) was led by Annika Labaki with 17 points. At one point she had 14 as her team led 22-14.
Lady Colts head coach Scott Sellers credited Colonel Crawford’s efforts.
“They played a really solid game. Just two kind of mirror teams. They play tough man, and we play tough man. They mix it up some. Both teams had a chance to win at the end. And as a coach, you get to this time of the year, and that’s what you can ask for,” he said.
“Crawford played as good of a game as they’ve played in a month, and they deserved to win, and they won.”
Clear Fork took a 9-8 after the first quarter as Labaki and Kylie Belcher led the way. Holt stole the ball and laid it in for Colonel Crawford as the quarter ended.
“We scouted for Lexi and for Roston and for Holt, everybody. Our scouts went seven deep. Sometimes it’s pick your poison for what you want to take away,” Sellers said.
“She (Duré) did an awesome job of getting to the basket and their team did an awesome job of making timely buckets when they needed them.”
Labaki had 11 in the first half but hit just one three-pointer and three foul shots in the third quarter and was held scoreless in the fourth quarter and in overtime.
“We were a little more cognizant of that and we tried to deny her late, and again, that’s a credit to Gabby Roston. We put Gabby out there on her and she’s had some tough assignments all year — Grace Walton, Brook Dennison to name a few. She just has a lot of grit and determination. It’s a credit to her and our team defense to limit a great player like Labaki,” Bauer said.
Colonel Crawford went on a 12-3 run to start the third period and outscored Clear Fork, 14-8.
“Gabby is another kid that works super hard. She’s got the legs for it, being a runner. She’s got the mentality for it. After school today they want to get into the gym and wanted to shoot around a little bit before we got on the bus. That’s where games like this are won.”
Bauer credited his reserve players with helping prepare the team.
“We get great looks from our jayvee scout teams. (Junior) Carley Zender has been outstanding in practice.
“I can’t stress enough how valuable she is. That’s a girl that doesn’t play a lot. She knows that’s her role right now is to give us a good look,” he said.
“That’s why it’s nice to have a quality jayvee team to practice against every day.”
Up next, No. 1
Saturday’s title game pits No. 1 seed Margaretta (23-2) against second-seeded Colonel Crawford.
In their semifinal win the Lady Bears forced 24 Upper Sandusky turnovers, including nine in the first quarter.
Sophomore guard Ellyse Schaefer led the team with 14 points and made four treys. Lilly Edwards added nine.
Addy Newman had 10 points for the Lady Rams, who trailed 15-8 at halftime.
Upper Sandusky ends its season at 16-8.
Box score
Clear Fork 9 10 8 4 2 — 33
Colonel Crawford 8 6 14 3 8 — 39
Clear Fork (17-8): Shots 11-34; 3-pt. shots 5-12 (Annika Labaki 4, Kylie Belcher); Free throws 6-6; Rebounds 18 (Melodie Blubaugh 6); Turnovers 20. Scoring: Annika Labaki 5 3 17, Kali Weikle 1 2 4, Kylie Belcher 3 0 7, Ashtyn Wine 1 1 3, Brinley Barnett 1 0 2.
Colonel Crawford (19-5): Shots 13-37; 3-pt. shots 2-8 (Lexi Dure 2); Free throws 11-16; Rebounds 20 (Lynae McKibben 5, Lexi Dure 5); Turnovers 11. Scoring: Gabby Roston 2 4 8, Mira Holt 4 2 10, Allison Weithman 1 0 2, Lexi Rush 1 0 2, Lexi Dure 5 4 16, Lynae McKibben 0 1 1.