Lady Knights down VW Lady Cougars

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

CONVOY — Lyvia Black’s play down the stretch helped Crestview pull away from the stubborn Van Wert Lady Cougars during Senior Night at Ray Etzler Gymnasium on Monday.

The 5-5 senior guard hit three foul shots and a bucket in the final 38 seconds to help give the Lady Knights a 53-42 county rivalry victory.

“She’s always the person we want to get the ball to at the end of the game,” Crestview head coach Mark Gregory said of Black. “Lyv did it again and she’s a great senior leader.”

The contest was a tight one for much of the night. A trey by Bailey Gregory gave Crestview a 9-6 lead with 1:59 left in the opening quarter, but Van Wert’s Abby Jackson and Cassidy Meyers supplied the remaining points of the quarter via two baskets, including one by Meyers to beat the buzzer.

Sierra Shaffer’s basket to open the second quarter gave the Lady Cougars a 12-9 advantage, but four straight foul shots by Motycka put Crestview on top 13-12. Caylee Phillips’s basket made it 14-13 Van Wert, then Crestview’s Lexi Gregory and Van Wert’s Alexis Rupert traded triples.

From there, Black hit two foul shots and a basket to give Crestview a 20-17 lead. After a Van Wert timeout, Meyers hit a basket then Motycka hit two more free throws, but Meyers responded with two of her own.

Gregory hit two foul shots then scored off a steal before Bailey Gregory knocked down a bucket for a 27-21 Crestview advantage. Rupert hit a big three pointer with 20 seconds left in the period, but (Lexi) Gregory’s basket before halftime gave the Lady Knights a 29-24 lead.

Van Wert’s Reagan Priest and Jackson each hit buckets to open the third quarter, but Crestview went on a 7-0 run, including two baskets by McCoy to boost the lead to 36-28.

The Lady Cougars pulled to within four, 36-32 via free throws by Jamison Clouse and Phillips, but Lexi Gregory’s deep three and a bucket by Olivia Cunningham gave Crestview a 41-32 lead entering the final quarter.

A basket by Gregory 30 seconds into the fourth period pushed Crestview’s lead to 43-32, but Jackson scored then Priest knocked down two foul shots to trim the deficit to 43-36. Crestview responded with baskets by Motycka and Black to make it 47-36 but Van Wert went on a 6-1 run on a pair of foul shots by Shaffer, a bucket by Jackson and two free throws by Meyers.

From there, Black hit a trio of foul shots then grabbed an offensive rebound and scored off a missed free throw for the final margin.

“I liked how our kids maintained their composure,” Gregory said. “We’ve talked a lot lately about composure and about poise and I thought our girls handled themselves really nice when things got really physical out there.”

Black finished with 11 points, as did Motycka. Lexi Gregory led all scorers with 16 points, while Abby Jackson was the only Lady Cougar in double figures (12).

“They’re battling as a young team, and we have a couple of seniors (Meyesr and Rupert) that are pouring their hearts out right now,” Van Wert head coach Rob Adams said. “We just can’t put one together for 32 (minutes) and that’s what it takes. These girls are learning pretty quick that it takes an every night effort and even if you’re a sophomore or a freshman you have to be mentally ready to go.”

“My hat’s off to Crestview,” Adams added. “Mark’s got a great team here and I wish him the best of success the rest of the season.”

Crestview (9-6) will play at Lima Central Catholic on Thursday while Van Wert (4-12) will host Kenton the same night.

Scoring summary:

Crestview 9 20 12 12 – 53
Van Wert  10 14 8 10 – 42

Crestview: Lyvia Black 3-5-11; Lexi Gregory 6-2-16; Ally McCoy 2-0-4; Paige Motycka 2-7-11; Bailey Gregory 1-1-4; Olivia Cunningham 2-1-5; Emma Bowen 1-0-2

Van Wert: Sierra Shaffer 1-2-4; Jamison Clouse 0-2-2; Abby Jackson 5-2-12; Alexis Rupert 2-0-6; Cassidy Meyers 2-4-8; Caylee Phillips 2-2-6; Reagan Priest 2-2-4

JV: Crestview 48-31