MANSFIELD — Loudonville’s energetic defense and one-woman dynamo proved too much for East Knox on Tuesday afternoon at the Mansfield Christian Holiday Showcase.
Sophomore Nikki Webber poured in 25 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and had 7 assists to win the Player of the Game plaque while spearheading Loudonville to a 64-32 victory over East Knox.
“Nikki just has that kind of motor,” said Loudonville coach Tyler Bates. “You better be ready to go hard for 32 minutes because she’s going to be coming at you.”
Loudonville started solidly, opening a 15-7 first-quarter lead, but the Bulldogs stayed within range and trailed 24-16 at the half.
Yet Webber and the Redbirds ripped off a 21-5 third-quarter spree to take a commanding 45-21 bulge heading to the final eight minutes.
“Our first half was a little rough,” Webber said. “We need to have our hands up on defense.
“We talked much better in the second half. We were almost silent in the first half.”
Loudonville improved to 7-1 with the convincing victory, and has become one of the more surprising stories of the region.
“We thought we had a chance to have a pretty good season,” Bates said. “Not one person on our team cares about (points).”
East Knox is now 0-9 on the season, but coach Pat Forshey saw some positives in the first half.
“Defensively, we played pretty well in the first half, we had some good rotations,” Forshey said. “But we are still struggling shooting the basketball.
“We’re still looking for our first win and when things start to go wrong sometimes our heads drop.”
Loudonville sophomore Madison Leedy chipped in eight points, while sophomore Steph Kline and freshman Emily Seboe also had eight apiece.
East Knox was led by senior Shelby Samples, who had nine points. Freshman Meggan Bartok contributed eight points.
Sponsors for the Mansfield Christian Holiday Showcase Classic include Subway, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Awardsmith Trophy & Plaque.
