CARROLL – Foul trouble hamstrung the Creston girls basketball team Friday night against Kuemper Catholic in a 63-51 loss.
Kuemper Catholic was able to take over on the offensive glass in quarters where the Panthers went stretches without their top rebounder Kelsey Fields.
The Knights tallied 14 offensive rebounds, leading to their top three scorers all shooting over 50 percent from the floor.
"It's pretty easy to shoot well from the floor when there is second chance points. That was honestly the difference in the game," said Creston head coach Britt Roberts.
Brielle Baker finished with a game-high 21 points, but eventually fouled out late in the contest.
Fields sat a majority of the second and fourth quarters in order to avoid picking up any more fouls.
"(Fields) couldn’t play most of the second quarter. That was a rough quarter for us. She played the entire third quarter, that was a good quarter for us," said Roberts. "And then she got in foul trouble again early in the fourth and had to take her out, bad quarter."
Kuemper Catholic's Brooklyn Bakke finished with 15 points for the Knights on 5 of 7 shooting while pulling down three offensive boards. Aimee Adams and Kalee Peter added 13 and 12 points along with seven more boards total.
Fields scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Panthers but was limited to just 22 minutes of action.
The foul trouble non-withstanding, Creston hung with Kuemper Catholic throughout the contest. The Knights were only able to push the score to double digits late when the Panthers were forced to foul.
A 13-9 third quarter allowed the red and white to cut their deficit to just three heading into the final quarter of action.
Roberts wasn't too displeased with the rest of Creston game and actually took solace in the fact that the Panthers, for the most part, executed their gameplan.
"Take out a few minutes and we execute that gameplan exactly how we were supposed to," said Roberts. "So our focus was really good for the most part."
Sydney Hartsock played 29 minutes for the Panthers and despite only having one basket, a 3-pointer, she added five assists and her coach took notice of her defensive effort.
"She was really locked in defensively," said Roberts.
Creston committed 22 total turnovers, a mark that Roberts continues to look to improve.
The Panthers assisted on 14 of their 20 made baskets, with multiple assists coming from five different players. Creston knocked down eight 3-pointers, three of which came out of the hands of Breanna Wallace who finished with nine points.
UP NEXT – Creston (3-4) stays home in its final two games before the winter break. The Panthers host Chariton tonight (Monday), taking on yet another tough opponent.
"They play an aggressive kind of steal-oriented defense. That's how they get a lot of their offensive stuff is by being aggressive and getting steals and getting easy transition buckets. We’ve got to take care of the basketball, we’ve got to pound it inside," Roberts said. "That’s where our advantage is going to be tomorrow."
The Panthers will have to do just that if they want to contend with a 6-1 Chariton squad.
Kuemp (63) – 16 30 39 63
Crest (51) – 14 23 36 51
Kuemp (FG FT PTS) – Totals 22 14-26 63. Brooklyn Bakke 5 4-8 15, Aimee Adams 6 1-3 13, Kalee Peter 4 4-9 12, Karsyn Thomsen 1 3-4 6, Grace Steffes 2 0-0 6, Maci Overmohle 2 2-2 6, Mallory Badding 2 0-0 5. 3-point goals – 5 (Steffes 2, Bakke 1, Thomsen 1, Badding 1). Assists – 14 (Peter 3, Overmohle 3, Badding 2, Bakke 1, Thomsen 1, Steffes 1, Adams 1, Kayla Venner 1, Kiersten Blair 1). Rebounds – 27 (Bakke 5, Peter 4, Steffes 4, Venner 4, Thomsen 3, Adams 3, Kara Peter 3, Badding 1). Steals – 10 (Thomsen 3, Kal. Peter 3, Adams 2, Steffes 1, Overmohle 1). Team fouls – 10. Fouled out – None.
Crest (FG FT PTS) – Totals 20 3-4 51. Brielle Baker 8 2-2 21, Kelsey Fields 6 1-2 13, Breanna Wallace 3 0-0 9, Kesia Stewart 1 0-0 3, Sydney Hartsock 1 0-0 3, Cayla Maitlen 1 0-0 2. 3-point goals – 8 (Baker 3, Wallace 3, Stewart 1, Hartsock 1). Assists — 14 (Hartsock 5, Maitlen 3, Baker 2, Wallace 2, Stewart 2). Rebounds — 16 (Fields 8, Sam Dunphy 2, Maitlen 2, Baker 1, Wallace 1, Hartsock 1). Steals – 7 (Maitlen 3, Fields 3, Dunphy 1). Team fouls — 24. Fouled out — Baker.