CRESTLINE — The Crestline girls basketball team may be the smallest team in the area, in terms of height. Of their starting five, their tallest player is 5-foot-5 junior Maddie Engler.
Galion, on the other hand, started a pair of 5-foot-9 seniors in Natalee Perkins and Emma Jutz.
The two big players had their way with the smaller Bulldogs.
Perkins dropped four 3-point shots and finished with 22 points, while Jutz added eight points as the Tigers opened the season with a 45-29 win Friday night.
Galion coach Shani Rush said that her team’s size advantage was the difference in the game.
“Yeah, we have Perkins in there and she does a nice job,” Rush said. “We thought they were going to come out in a man, and they surprised us, coming out in a 2-3 zone. So, it gave us an opportunity to see that and work on that and I thought our girls did a really nice job. They were patient and got a good shot.”
First-year coach Lance Hood of Crestline also felt that size was a factor.
“Size is a big problem,” Hood said. “We had some kids that had a little bit of size and they decided not to come out and that’s fine. As I said, we are a program that’s going to work hard. We are in shape and we’re going to push to the last drop.
“I have to give my girls credit,” Hood added. “There were times they backed up, but then they got up in. We’re young. We’re only losing one senior that has varsity experience so next year we’re going to be a problem.”
After Galion led 8-5 in the first period, Perkins and Jutz scored 11 of Galion’s 16 points in the second period as the Tigers increased the lead to 24-13 at the half.
In the third period, the pair added nine more points as Galion held a 38-27 lead entering the final frame.
“We hit a couple of 3s there and gave us a lot of confidence and Natalee Perkins had a really nice game,” Rush said. “Us controlling the tempo of the game was the turning point of the game.
“That’s probably Emma’s highest-scoring game,” she added. “This is her senior year and she’s never really played before until coming into high school. It’s just her gaining confidence; she has athletic ability, and she had some great put-backs.”
Crestline guard Kennedi Sipes led the Bulldogs with 12 points while Brooklyn Gregory added five.
Hood felt that Galion was able to do more work than the Bulldogs during the summer and it showed up on the court.
“Galion worked this summer,” Hood said. “I know because I know people over there. They were working. They were in three-on-three leagues, and we didn’t get to do that. Because of that, you saw that tonight. You saw the difference between working in the summer and not working in the summer.
“I give Galion all the respect in the world,” Hood added. “We’re going to hit our stride about the middle of December. It’s going to take that long. We were in better shape. They were better at executing.”
Rush said it was important that her team hit shots in critical moments but added that the defense was also critical.
“We hit shots, that was nice, but I think our defense, with Dezi Lester and Cameron Eckert, I told them to come out strong and they did. (Kennedi) Sipes and (Emma) Kirby, that’s what Crestline goes through their offense with, and I wanted to shut that down.”
Galion finished the night hitting 16 of 42 shots from the floor, to 11 of 35 for Crestline. But Hood thought his team’s defense was good.
“It was better than what it has been,” Hood said of his team’s defense. “We’re going to do a lot of different things this season; we’re not going to stay with one thing. I’m proud of these girls for fighting. We’re young, we have a lot of girls who have never played basketball before, and we just have to get them ready.”
Box score
Galion 8 16 14 7 — 45
Crestline 5 8 14 2 — 29
Galion (1-0): Shots 16-42; 3-pt. shots 7 (Natalee Perkins 4, Teanna Greter 2, Cameron Eckert); Free throws 6-6; Rebounds 27 (Natalee Perkins 9); Turnovers 14. Scoring: Natalee Perkins 7 4 22, Emma Jutz 4 0 8, Teanna Greter 3 0 8, Cameron Eckert 2 2 7.
Crestline (0-1): Shots 11-35; 3-pt. shots 3 (Kennedi Sipes, Emma Kirby, Maddie Engler; Free throws 4-8; Rebounds 21 (Maddie Engler 6); Turnovers 13. Scoring: Kennedi Sipes 5 1 12, Emma Kirby 1 0 3, Ellie Miller 1 0 2, Brooklyn Gregory 1 3 5, Maddie Engler 3 0 7.