SHELBY – Colonel Crawford was defeated by 15 points in a battle with No. 1 seed Columbus Grove at Shelby High School on Saturday afternoon.
Columbus Grove High School and Shelby High School are 73 miles apart, but distance was no barrier as the Bulldogs still won the district title with a 49-34 record.
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They didn’t start slow at 11-2, as Colonel Crawford quickly made it 11-9. It was a real tournament environment with packed crowds on both sides.
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“We’re spoiled here at Colonel Crawford because we’re used to playing in front of big crowds and our community supports our kids,” Eagles coach Zach Ball said. “We’re lucky to be playing close to home today.”
Colonel Crawford’s Lexi Dooley brought the ball up the court and Columbus Grove’s Allison Thompson handled the defense.
Columbus Grove entered halftime with a 28-21 lead and showed no signs of slowing down in the third quarter, forcing Colonel Crawford to call a timeout at 4:36 as the Bulldogs extended their lead to 11 points.
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The biggest lead of the game was 16 points at the end of the third quarter, and a big reason for that run was 6-foot-0 Nicole Nesby. Columbus Grove had several players in double figures, with Nesby scoring a game-high 16 points, while Kendall Palt (14 points) and Brynn Calverage (11 points) were also crucial.
“We put a lot of emphasis on limiting Nicole Nesby, who, to her credit, is a great player,” Ball said. “She found a way to make plays around the rim. Two or three other kids on their team stepped up and made plays. You have to give Columbus Grove a lot of credit because they’re a really good team.”
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Emmi Powers led Colonel Crawford with 13 points, Robin Ehmann and Reese Redman had 5 points each, Saylor Holt and Lexi Dure had 4 points each, and Lila Plesac had 3 points.
The Lady Eagles graduated two seniors, Duer and Elizabeth Eyman.
“The year really starts with Lexi and the culture she’s built here over the last four years,” Ball said. “She was part of my first freshman class here and she has the ability to step out of her comfort zone and be a voice for us.”
“And then Liz was over it. Her role on the team was probably one of the most difficult roles you could ask a child to play. Great teams have a leader, and she delivered on that verbally.”
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In addition to these two seniors, Crawford fielded a very young team this season. Still, this is the first team in 25 years to win more than 20 games. The Eagles last won a district title in 2000, marking the third consecutive year the Eagles have lost in the district title. Colonel Crawford finished an outstanding season with a 22-3 record, finishing as district runner-up and winning back-to-back North 10 Conference championships.
This article originally appeared in The Mansfield News-Journal: Colonel Crawford girls basketball team earns regional runner-up spot for third consecutive year
