Creston girls’ upset bid falls short

Creston girls played strong in a heavy underdog role Thursday night, leading Class 4A second-ranked Lewis Central 11-7 behind an early eight-point outburst in the lane by 6-1 freshman center Kelsey Fields.

When Panther guard Keisha Stewart drew a charge by LC senior Maegen Holt in the second quarter, it was the third foul already by the Titan all-stater averaging 22 points a game, and the Panthers were trailing by only six points (26-20).

(Stewart left the game with a head injury after the play, but early indications were that she did not have a concussion. Further tests were planned for today.)

But in the end, Creston’s valiant effort came up short in a 49-36 defeat. Megan Witte scored 18 points and Holt finished well below her average with 12 as the Titans improved to 9-0 overall and 6-0 in Hawkeye 10 play.

Encouraging signs

Brielle Baker scored 18 points and Fields managed four more points after the early run to finish with 12 points and seven rebounds. Creston fell to 3-6 overall and 0-4 in Hawkeye 10 play, but coach Britt Roberts was encouraged by the way her team challenged the highly-ranked Titans.

“I told the girls after the game, if we play that way we will beat 99 percent of the teams we play,” Roberts said. “Our defense was outstanding. To hold an explosive team like that under 50 points, that’s just being focused and playing as a team.”

Roberts praised Fields for being aggressive in going to the basket early, when she drew two early fouls on Holt until LC coach Derek Archer made a defensive adjustment, taking his star scorer off the assignment of guarding Creston’s taller post player.

Archer said Creston’s early successes and the number of fouls called on his team disrupted their offensive rhythm.

“It was a little tough with the foul trouble that we were in,” Archer said. “It was hard to get into any kind of flow, and that’s a huge part of our game. We made a few adjustments on (Fields) to maker her turn in ways that she didn’t want to. But you have to give her credit, she’s a good player.”

Creston trailed 28-20 at halftime as Witten led all scorers with 13. Baker and Fields both had 10 points at the break to account for all of Creston’s scoring.

Second half

In the second half point guard Sydney Hartsock and wing player Breanna Wallace each sank a 3-pointer. Hartsock’s triple from the top of the key closed the gap to 37-31 with 5:15 to play, but the Panthers could get no closer as Lewis Central was consistent at the free throw line down the stretch and 15-of-19 for the game.

A big part of Creston staying in contention was better control of the basketball in transition and against pressure defense. The turnover difference was only 14-13 in favor of the second-ranked Titans.

“We worked on how to break that kind of pressure in practice and the girls came out with confidence tonight,” Roberts said.

Archer had praise for Creston after his team survived the road test.

“They played hard and we expected that,” Archer said. “This is a tough place to play every time we come over here. We knew they would bring the fight like they always do.”

UP NEXT — After a few days off, the Panthers get back into practice and a scrimmage during the holiday break in preparation for a Jan. 4 non-conference game at Interstate 35 in Truro.

“With this break coming up, I hope we can still take this momentum with us and they understand just how much potential we really have,” Roberts said. “We had the number two team in the state on the ropes, going into their delay game with two minutes to play to keep us from catching them. I hope that gives them some confidence for the rest of the season. The challenge for us is to keep it going.”

Running score by quarter:

LC (49) — 17 26 37 49

Crest (36) — 13 20 28 36

LEWIS CENTRAL (49) — (FG FT PTS) Megan Witte 8 2-3 18, Maegen Holt 4 4-4 12, Natalie Rigatuso 1 7-10, Alissa Pomrenke 2 2-2 6, McKenna Paulsen 1 0-0 3. Totals — 15 15-19 49. FG shooting — 15-28 (53.6 percent). 3-point goals — 1-6 (Paulsen 1). Rebounds — 15. Turnovers — 13. Team fouls — 15. Fouled out — none. Technical fouls — LC bench 1.

CRESTON (36) — (FG FT PTS) Brielle Baker 5 6-8 18, Kelsey Fields 5 2-3 12, Sydney Hartsock 1 0-0 3, Breanna Wallace 1 0-0 3. Totals — 12 8-11 36. FG shooting — 12-36 (33.3 percent). 3-point goals — 4-14 (Baker 2, Wallace 1, Hartsock 1). Rebounds — 22 (Fields 7, Baker 6, Sam Dunphy 3, Cayla Maitlen 2, Wallace 2). Assists — 8 (Fields 3, Bree Ross 2, Peyton Rice 2, Hartsock 1). Steals — 5 (Wallace 3, Fields 1, Hartsock 1). Turnovers — 14. Team fouls — 19. Fouled out — None.

JUNIOR VARSITY

The junior varsity game was tight all the way, including a 50-50 deadlock at the end of regulation after Rylie Driskell sank a 3-pointer for the Panthers with four seconds left.

The Titan JV remained undefeated for the season, in outscoring the Panthers 8-5 in the overtime period.

Creston had trailed 38-32 entering the fourth quarter and made several key plays down the stretch to get back into contention, including a steal and layup by Megan Haley to cut it to a 48-47 deficit with :49 left.

At 28 seconds LC made two free throws for a 50-47 lead before Driskell’s tying shot as time was about to expire. Driskell also went 6-6 at the free throw line in scoring 12 points.

“Driskell is a gamer,” Creston coach Bryant McCabe said. “She doesn’t like to lose. I thought this group really played well tonight. We rebounded well for an undersized JV team and defensively we were outstanding.”

Taylor Buxton and Haley were effective scorers on the wing for Creston. Buxton made three 3-pointers in leading the Panthers with 14 points and Haley had two triples in scoring eight. Bree Ross also scored eight points.

Jayden Cross, daughter of Creston graduate Kadon Cross, led LC with 11 points.

Creston (55) — Taylor Buxton 14, Rylie Driskell 12, Megan Haley 8, Bree Ross 8, Kesia Stewart 4, Rachel Boyer 4, Karly Calvin 2. Halftime score — Lewis Central 26, Creston 22.

Lewis Central 58) — Jayden Cross 11, Delaney Esterling 10.

FRESHMEN

Lewis Central dominated the freshman game, taking a 30-7 halftime lead on the way to a 62-19 victory.

Keely Diercks led the Titans with 16 points. Calvin, Boyer and Driskell each tallied four points for Creston.

“We weren’t playing well against their pressure and couldn’t get anything going,” coach McCabe said. “A lot of the same girls played much better in the JV game after seeing what they were doing.”

Creston (19) — Karly Calvin 4, Rachel Boyer 4, Rylie Driskell 4, Heylee Shields 3. Halftime score — Lewis Central 30, Creston 7.

Lewis Central (62) — Keely Diercks 16, Grace Ruzicka 13.