NORTH ROBINSON (Crawford County Now) — There were no net cuttings or huge celebrations inside The Mac.

Rather it was a quiet confidence as Colonel Crawford, with a 44-32 win over Carey, ensured itself at least a share of the league title in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference battle at Mac Morrison Gymnasium here Saturday afternoon.

The Lady Eagles (18-2, 12-1) can claim back-to-back N10 crowns while the Blue Devils sit at 16-4 overall and 11-2 in the conference. The win also avenges Crawford’s lone league loss, 52-46 on Carey’s home floor.

“We had more assertiveness this time. They do a good job of being assertive and they kind of controlled the pace and were the aggressor in that first game. I thought we matched that today,” said head coach Zac Bauer.

The hosts opened a 10-6 first quarter lead and thanks to a stingy defense held onto a 16-10 halftime edge.

Freshman Reese Redman came off the bench and provided a 3-point basket, along with two assists and a steal, in the opening frame.

Carey’s Adalynn Ritter got a nifty inbounds pass to cut the lead to 3, but free throws from Lexi Duré and Emmi Powers pushed it to a 6-point lead.

“It’s little moments like that that will win championship games. We talk a lot about championship moments,” Bauer said.

“We know the value of one possession. That paid off right there.”

Robin Ehmann showed why she’s developed into one of the league’s standout players with a 17-point, 7-rebound, 3-steal performance. Powers added 12 points, 4 rebounds and 5 steals.

“It was coming into a championship atmosphere with the N10 title on the line. So we wanted to start out hot,” Ehmann said. “We lost our aggressiveness when we played them the first time. So we knew we had to come out battling.”

Playing a complete game has been a work in progress for the junior post.

“Bauer always talks about nothing’s easy. It was about getting up in the passing lane and helping on the defensive end tonight. I have one year left, but it’s for the seniors like my sister (Elizabeth).”

Kessler netted 5 of the 7 Carey points in the third quarter as Colonel Crawford extended its lead to 28-17.

“They kind of sped us up in that first half and we got into some turnovers,” Carey head coach Keith O’Flaherty. “That took us out of our offense. Right before half, we had it down to 3 and we turned it over.”

Carey was led by Kessler’s 16 points and 7 rebounds. Bella Phoenix 9 points, 3 boards and a pair of steals.

“Our heads wasn’t in it in that first half, and we settled down at halftime. We did finally settle in in the third quarter, but it was too late by then.”

A Powers putback pushed the CC lead to 22-10 two minutes into the second half. Ehmann and Saylor Holt added buckets as Ritter picked up her fourth personal foul with 51.9 seconds to go.

“Robin was so patient today and played really poised,” Bauer said. “She was in her moment and didn’t think about what happened a possession or two before or dwell on missed opportunities.

“It was encouraging to see her take that next step for us. That’s what good players do.”

The Blue Devils made a final push going on a 12-5 run to cut a 33-18 Crawford lead to 38-30 with 2:03 remaining.

But the Lady Eagles responded. Lily Alberty, a junior role player, got a steal and a rebound on subsequent plays. Colonel Crawford hit 6-of-10 free throws in the final quarter to help close it out.

“Lexi Duré makes a lot of those free throws (3-of-4) and she has been in some big games throughout her career as a four-year player for us. The poise of our sophomores, Emmi Powers and Saylor Holt, and we get a lot of steadiness out of Lila Plesac, who maybe didn’t have a lot of impactful baskets tonight, but impactful baskets came from plays she made.”

Holt chipped in with 7 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals.

“Lily takes 3 possessions from them under our basket and you can’t underscore things like that.”

O’Flaherty acknowledged the weapons that Colonel Crawford possesses.

“We tried to limit Robin’s and Emmi’s touches. You’re not going to stop them. They’re great players. Emmi works hard and goes after things. We did a good job on her at our place, but I think that lit a spark in her for this game.”

The Lady Eagles host Ontario on Thursday in non-league play and conclude the regular season at Seneca East Saturday.

“Our focus is on practice Monday. Our next step is to take care of our seniors (Elizabeth Ehmann and Duré) on Thursday. You can’t look too far ahead, so opportunities are limited; it’s finite.”

Carey hosts Buckeye Central on Saturday to wrap up. Tournament draws are this Sunday as teams learn their post-season matchups.

Box score

Carey                             6         4          7        15 — 32

Colonel Crawford    10         6       12        16 — 44

Carey (16-4, 11-2 N10): Shots 10-36; 3-pt. shots 0-9; Free throws 12-18; Rebounds 27 (McKinnley Kessler 7); Turnovers 19. Scoring: McKinnley Kessler 5 6 16, Bella Phoenix 3 3 9, Adalynn Ritter 1 0 2, Emily Brodman 1 2 4, Bayah Harsanje 0 1 1.

Colonel Crawford (18-2, 12-1 N10): Shots 14-48; 3-pt. shots 3-12 (Saylor Holt, Emmi Powers, Reese Redman); Free throws 13-20; Rebounds 22 (Robin Ehmann 7); Turnovers 15. Scoring: Saylor Holt 3 0 7, Emmi Powers 2 7 12, Robin Ehmann 8 1 17, Lexi Dure 0 5 5, Reese Redman 1 0 3.

JV: Colonel Crawford 40-16.