MANSFIELD – Crestview served notice it will not back down. Clear Fork showed a strong senior class. And Mansfield Christian played an excellent host for its first high school girls’ basketball preview on Friday night in The Furnace.
When the evening of two-quarter contests was complete, Crestview had dropped a 31-21 decision to a much larger Mount Vernon team; Clear Fork used a strong start to stop Buckeye Central, 27-17; and MCS had a bad shooting night in a 24-7 loss to Fredericktown.
There was also a JV contest with Mount Vernon topping Ontario, 20-12.
All of the area teams will tip it off the regular season in the next week to 10 days.
“I think this event is a great opportunity to show the community what Mansfield Christian is all about,” Lady Flames coach JR Wilson said. “We take a lot of pride in hosting people here and treating them with courtesy and respect. Some of the coaches of the bigger schools told me they liked our gym and enjoyed coming into a smaller gym with our atmosphere.”
SCRAPPY LADY COUGARS
Crestview had the tallest challenge of the night, trying to deal with super sophomore center Taylor Gregory (6-1) a force in the middle for the Lady Yellow Jackets. Gregory finished with 16 points and was backed by nine from senior forward Sammy Cunningham.
But the Lady Cougars never backed down and battled Mount Vernon up and down the court. A pair of juniors led Crestview in scoring, including eight each from Renee Stimpert and Lexie Shriver.
Aaron Goon, a veteran coach in his first year at Crestview, said he was pleased with his team’s effort.
“We are not going to play many teams with the caliber of the big girl from Mount Vernon,” he said. “I’d like to have her on my team. Our girls hustled all night. We just missed some shots.
“Our goal this year is to compete. Our number one goal is to win the (Firelands) conference. Our second goal is to be in every game we play. We may lose a few here and there … we just don’t want any of those really bad games.
“Games like tonight are good for us. We scrimmaged Clear Fork, Fredericktown, Triway … those games will only make us better,” Goon said.
Crestview opens the season next Friday with a non-league game at Hillsdale.
SENIORS POWER LADY COLTS
Clear Fork returns a lot of talent from last year’s sectional championship team and its seniors were on display in the win against Buckeye Central. The Colts started and finished fast, outscoring the Buckettes in each quarter, 12-7 and 15-10.
Seniors Deijah Swihart and Erika Farst had nine points each for Clear Fork, which opens its season Dec. 2 at Mansfield St. Peter.
“I think we need to clean some things up,” Lady Colts coach Heidi Roush said. “There is no reason to have that many (seven) traveling calls … and those were seniors. But we have some really intense, hardworking kids and that’s what we are counting on.”
Clear Fork doesn’t have a huge presence in the post, but the Lady Colts make up for it with athleticism.
“We hope to use our length this season,” Roush said. “But when we play a team with a big post, we are going to have to find some alternatives because we don’t have a big body.”
The Lady Colts got off to a slower pre-season with the success of the Clear Fork soccer team, which advanced to the regional finals, led by Swihart and goalkeeper Morgan Bailey.
“It’s not as bad as I thought it might be,” Roush said. “Our soccer players missed the first four or five practices, but they have stepped right in. They are definitely in shape. Deijah playing in the (soccer) midfield this year definitely helps us.”
LADY FLAMES OUTMATCHED
In the evening’s finale, Fredericktown used a full-court press to jump out to a 16-4 lead after one quarter and then coasted to the win. Junior guard Macy Earnest had 11 points, all coming in the first quarter. Ellen Wilson, Addie Daugherty and Katie Ritz all had two points for the Lady Flames.
“We struggled with pressure,” Wilson said. “But we are a young team. We have no seniors. If we had hit our foul shots .. I think we were like three for 17 … and made our layups, it could have been a lot closer.
“Our girls played much more physical than we have in the past. We got to the foul line when we were aggressive. We just need to make the shots when we get there,” Wilson said.
MCS opens its regular season next Saturday in a non-league game at Galion.
