Lady Knights fall to USV in sectional final

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

HARROD — The Upper Scioto Lady Rams pulled away in the fourth quarter, and topped the Crestview Lady Knights 57-41 in Saturday’s Division IV upper bracket sectional championship game at Allen East High School.

Already leading 33-27, the second-seeded Lady Rams opened the fourth quarter on an 11-0 run, including six points by Shelby Spradlin. The Lady Knights were held scoreless until the 3:19 mark of the quarter, when Ashley Dealey hit one of two free throws. Crestview’s first basket of the quarter came with 3:01 left, when Lexi Gregory’s shot found the bottom of the net.  From there, USV used a series of free throws to secure the victory.

“It felt like we were stuck at 27 forever, and it became a snowball effect,” Crestview head coach Mark Gregory explained. “But I love my team, and we never give up. We play hard to the end, until the buzzer sounds.”

“It’s always tough to lose in the tournament. I really did feel like that if we played like we were capable, anything could happen, but unfortunately we just didn’t hit enough shots tonight,” Gregory added.

Both teams got off to a slow start. The game was tied 6-6 midway through the first quarter, before the Lady Knights took their only lead of the game on a basket by Gregory.

The Lady Rams quickly countered with a rare four-point play, as USV’s Kaycee Carroll was fouled during a trey, and hit the ensuing free throw. The Lady Rams scored two more buckets, before Crestview’s Avery McCoy hit a basket to close the gap to 14-10 at the end of the first quarter.

Lyvia Black’s triple pulled the Lady Knights to within three,18-15 with four minutes left in the second quarter. But USV converted on another four-point play, before Black hit another trey to make it 22-18.  After that, Carroll hit a three-pointer and Emily Patton scored to extend the lead to 27-18. Gregory countered with a buzzer-beating bucket for a 27-20 halftime score.

Patton lead all scorers with 18, while Carroll had 13.

The third quarter was uneventful, as both teams struggled from the floor. The Lady Rams hit just two baskets and two free throws, while Crestview scored seven points, including five by Paige Motycka. She finished with a team-high 15 points and nine rebounds, while Gregory scored 10.

“We have grown so much and not just on the floor, but off the floor,” Gregory said of his young team. “This group went through a lot this year, and they’ve grown up. We’ve got a great group coming back.”

“I also can’t say enough about (the lone senior) Ashley Dealey, how much she’s meant to this program, and how much she meant to us this year as a leader, the coach added.

Crestview’s season came to a close at 13-10, while USV improved to 20-3, and will play Marion Local in the district semifinals Thursday night at Wapakoneta.

Box score:

Crestview   10  10   7   14–-41

USV            14  13   6   24–-57

Crestview (41) — Lyvia Black 8, Lexi Gregory 10, Ally McCoy 2, Ashley Dealey 1, Paige Motycka 15, Avery McCoy 2, Haley Speith 3.

Upper Scioto Valley (57) — Alyssa Miller 9, Shelby Spradlin 14, Kaycee Carroll 13, Emily Patton 18, Haley Hunsicker 2, Miranda Holbrook 1.