By Cort Reynolds
ADA - Full-court pressing Crestview reeled off the first 14 points of the game and went on to post a convincing 77-34 win over host Ada in Northwest Conference girls basketball play Thursday evening.
Bulldog sophomore playmaker Courtney Sumner topped both teams with 21 points, 18 of which came in the second half after the outcome was decided.
"We didn't have any answers for them," said Ada third-year head coach Morgan Bass. "They dictated a lot of what we did. Athletically, we didn't match up five-on-five, so we went zone. They ran the floor well and out-rebounded us."
The Lady Bulldog record fell to 3-11 and 1-4 in the NWC with the defeat. Meanwhile, the Lady Knights improved to 11-3 and moved to the top of the league at 5-1 as a result of the victory.
The balanced Knight girls placed four scorers in double figures to pace the runaway victory. Senior southpaw Olivia Cunningham led the way with 15 points, hitting three triples over the 2-3 Ada zone.
"We spread the wealth well and had real balanced scoring," said Lady Knight head coach Mark Gregory.
Knight guards Bailey Gregory and Cunningham each nailed left side triples to open the game, and the visitors never trailed.
Brynn Putnam's short lane shot rolled in for a 14-0 bulge. Ada senior post Megan Light scored inside to get the hosts on the board with 2:33 left in the opening stanza.
Ada senior Miranda Wills completed an old-fashioned three-point play inside. Cunningham sank another trey, and Ada freshman guard Olivia Burkhart drilled an 11-foot right baseline shot to cut the deficit to 19-7 after one quarter.
Crestview reeled off a 12-2 spurt to open the second stanza and take complete command. Sophomore Laci McCoy canned two athletic drives in a row, followed by a pair of layins from freshman Cali Gregory.
Sumner knocked down a driving banker to halt the run and reduce the margin to 31-11. Cunningham canned a follow shot and another trifecta late in the period.
Ada senior Alexis Waugh finished a layup. Putnam converted a stickback layin that appeared to be well after the halftime horn to extend the margin to 42-14 at the half.
Crestview came out strong in the third period, scoring the first 11 points to balloon the lead to 53-14.
"We did a really nice job getting the ball down low, especially in the third quarter," said Gregory.
Sumner hit a foul shot to end the 15-0 Crestview run, but Bailey Gregory swished a 16-footer. After three Ada foul shots, Putnam leaked out for two fast break layups and added a short shot.
Her personal six-point flurry advanced the lead to 61-18 with 2:11 left in the third quarter.
Sumner got going as she splashed a long left wing trey, then stole the ball and finished a left-handed layin.
Sumner buried a top of the key trifecta just before the buzzer to pull Ada within 66-26 after three periods of play. The sophomore tallied 10 of the 12 Bulldog points in the quarter. Wills netted the other two markers on foul shots midway through the stanza.
Ada battled Crestview in a close 11-8 fourth quarter. Sumner canned two driving shots early in the period, and converted four of four foul shots to net all eight Bulldog points in the final stanza.
The hustling Wills scored five points and Waugh came off the bench to add four for the hosts. Light added two blocked shots.
The Lady Bulldogs connected on 11 field goals overall. Ada sank nine two-pointers and drained two shots from beyond the arc, both by Sumner.
The Bulldogs converted 10 of 13 foul shots (77 percent).
Ten of the 13 Knights who played scored. Junior forward Putnam netted a dozen points, while senior Bailey Gregory scored 11 points and 6-0 freshman post Myia Etzler added 10 to support Cunningham.
McCoy scored nine points to just miss being the fifth Crestview player in double digits.
"We mixed up our defenses well and had a lot of unselfish play, the girls really played together," said Gregory.
The Knight girls canned 27 two-point goals and drained five three-pointers for 32 total baskets, 21 more buckets than Ada. The visitors converted eight of 14 free throw attempts (57 percent).
Crestview also won the JV contest, 29-22. Daicy Robinson netted nine markers for the Bulldog reserves.
Ada is now 1-5 at home.
Ada 34 (3-11, 1-4 NWC)
Sumner 6 7-10 21, Poling 0, Burkhart 1 0-0 2, Light 1 0-0 2, Waugh 2 0-0 4, Wills 1 3-3 5, Acheson 0.
Totals: 9-2/10-13/34. 3-pointers: Sumner 2.
Crestview 77 (11-1, 5-1 NWC)
Greulach 0, Putnam 6 0-0 12, B. Gregory 5 0-0 11, K. Etzler 0, C. Gregory 3 0-0 6, McCoy 3 3-4 9, M. Etzler 4 2-3 10, Cunningham 5 2-2 15, Macki 2 0-1 5, Kulwicki 1 0-0 2, Hammons 2 0-0 4, Longstreth 0 0-2 0, Grace 1 1-2 3.
Totals: 27-5/8-14/77. 3-pointers: Cunningham 3, B. Gregory 1, Macki 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 7 7 12 8 34
Cvw 19 23 24 11 77
JV: Crestview 29, Ada 22.
Ada hosts backyard arch-rival Upper Scioto Valley (1-13) Tuesday, January 26 at 6 p.m. in a varsity-only contest. USV lost 61-39 to Waynesfield Thursday night.
The game will be followed by a boys non-league bout vs. North Baltimore.
"We better show up ready to play and take care of business," said Bass of the annual Ram grudge match. "It is always a chippy game, being a rivalry."
The Bulldogs then travel to face tough conference foe Paulding (13-5, 4-2 NWC) Thursday, Jan. 28. Delphos Jefferson (4-1) nipped the Lady Panthers 47-45 Thursday night to leapfrog into second place over Paulding in the NWC standings.
