Growing pains: Crestline girls sweep Central Christian in low-scoring game
CRESTLINE — Wins have been few and far between at Crestline this season, as first-year coach Lance Hood has learned quickly.
But when they do come, you have to take what you can get. Win No. 2 of the season came Thursday night when the Bulldogs fended off much-improved Kidron Central Christian for the second time this season 32-22.
"A win's a win no matter how you get it," Hood said. "We could've played better, we could've made free throws, we could've done a lot of different things. But sometimes that's the way the cookie crumbles.
"We'll take it."
It's a step in the right direction for a program starting over with a new coach. Hood wants to change the culture at Crestline and turn the program into one teams can't take lightly.
"For us, we know we have a lot of work," he said. "Some fundamental habits are so bad that it won't be broken in a season, it might not even be broken in two seasons — that's what we have to understand. I struggle with it because my mind is so advanced, I have to learn that."
In the first meeting between these Mid-Buckeye Conference foes, Crestline ran away with an impressive 46-19 win. It appeared as if round two would be similar as the Bulldogs led 17-5 after one quarter, but the offense stalled and totaled just 15 more points the rest of the way.
A lot of that had to do with the growth made at Kidron since they last met. But a lot also had to do with missed opportunities and careless turnovers.
"I don't take any opponent lightly," Hood said. "But I will say I think my girls thought they were finished when they were up 17-3. I tell them all the time it doesn't work like that, you aren't going to waltz over a team twice. They've gotten a lot better and our girls aren't used to competing at a very high level.
"Even in a win, I'm looking at the mistakes. I'll let them celebrate it, but I look at our mistakes."
Were it not for a slow start, Central Christian might've earned its second win of the season by outscoring Crestline 17-15 in the final three quarters.
"The girls have been working super hard in practice and I've been telling them we need to have pride in who we are," Comets coach Bethany Koons said. "Tonight we really, finally, did that. Even though we lost, I'm super happy with their effort."
Turning a 35-point loss into a 10-point game in just over a month shows tremendous growth at a program that almost didn't get a chance to field a team this season were it not for some athletic girls deciding to give basketball a try.
"Most of the girls on the team are soccer players," Koons said. "Their confidence has grown so much — skills have improved greatly — but confidence has been huge for them. We play some tough teams, so those games have been hard for us, but setting goals for ourselves is big for us."
Both teams have been down a similar path this season, being on the wrong end of more running clocks than they can count. So when there's a chance to compete with a team, you make the most out of the opportunity.
Jocelyn Horst did just that for Central Christian with a 12-point, 15-rebound double-double, adding six steals, one assist and one block.
"She has been awesome," Koons said. "She's a great leader that works hard for us. I can't ask anything more from her."
Nevaeh Dickens (four points, six rebounds, two blocks), Laura Nunes (three points, four rebounds), Zoe Jarvis (three points), Molly Green (five rebounds) and Chloe Troyer (six rebounds) all contributed.
Crestline was led by Kennedi Sipes' 12 points, five rebounds, four steals and two assists, along with Ellie Miller's 12 points. Miller had the Bulldogs' only two 3s in the game.
"Ellie is a shell that needs to be cracked," Hood said. "Once she believes in herself as much as I believe in her, look out area, she's going to do some hurting. I tell her all the time she is more than capable of being one of the best players in the area in the next two years, but how bad do you want it?
"I stress that to all my girls — how bad do you want it, how bad do you want to compete? When we get that mentality, I think we'll shock a lot of people."
Also contributing were Maddie Engler (four points, six rebounds, four assists), Aiyanna Horn (two points, 10 rebounds) and Brooklyn Gregory (two points, 11 rebounds, five steals).
Up next for Crestline is a nonleague game with Plymouth on Tuesday.
"Plymouth is probably the best two-win team in the area," Hood said. "They're tough, they're aggressive, and we have to get ready for that."
Scoreboard, Jan. 27
Galion 38, Ontario 28
G: Dezi Lester (15 points); Natalee Perkins (9 points); Teanna Greter (7 points); Emma Jutz (5 points); Cameron Eckert (2 points).
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Twitter: @Zachary_Holden
This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Crestline fends off Kidron Central Christian in MBC clash
