MANSFIELD, Ohio — Friday night marked the beginning of the girls basketball season and Mansfield Christian was ready for it.
The Flames opened in an overpowering press that stymied a youthful Crestline team and ignited a 66-14 victory before a good crowd at The Furnace.
“It was really fun. We played really well,” Mansfield Christian senior Katie Ritz said. “We were excited for the first game. We had a lot of intensity at the start and the press really got us going.”
Coach J.R. Wilson said a fullcourt press is something he’ll play at various times throughout the season, depending on matchups. However, the Flames have just 14 players in the program, varsity and JV, so depth will be a factor.
“I thought our kids moved to their spots quickly tonight,” Wilson said. “They really came out excited. It was a great atmosphere with our crowd.”
Mansfield Christian rolled to a 23-0 first-quarter advantage, and opened a 27-0 bulge before Crestline’s Stephanie Thomas hit a free throw to break the streak with 5:13 showing in the half. The gap widened to 38-2 at halftime.
“At halftime we had twice as many offensive rebounds as defensive rebounds, and that’s really rare for us,” Ritz said.
One of the factors playing into that statistic was the Flames’ defense. Wilson’s club was so suffocating the Bulldogs struggled to get off decent shots, and did not register a field goal in the first half.
Mansfield Christian forged a 52-7 lead heading to the final eight minutes, and finished with a solid fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs’ roster is made up of seven freshmen, and their inexperience showed early. However, Crestline got better as the game went along, and scored 12 points in the second half.
“Our starting point guard (Dennesa Baker) was out tonight and they’re pressure really made it hard on us,” first-year coach Dana Edmonds said. “I thought we were better in the fourth quarter than in the first quarter and hopefully that’s something we can build on.”
Mansfield Christian senior Addie Daugherty poured in a game-high 22 points, while Ritz collected 21 and junior Allie Maiyer added 14.
“We’ve got a couple of seniors, Addie and Katie, who will probably lead us in scoring most of the year,” Wilson said. “Allie Maiyer, she’s a junior, but I can’t say enough about her. She’s our floor leader out there.”
Thomas and Brianna Briggs each had four points for the Bulldogs.
“Tonight was tough, but we’ll get better,” Edmonds said. “If these freshmen can stick together, who knows what they can do in the future?”
Junior Varsity
Crestline has no JV team, so Mansfield Christian played Ashland Christian before the varsity tip-off. The Lions dropped in a bucket at the regulation buzzer to push that contest into overtime, then won it 26-21.
