ATTICA — Crawfordsville girls’ basketball had an offensive explosion like it had not seen in more than 100 games in its 76-35 win over Attica Tuesday night.
Senior Lauren Kellerman led the early onslaught with 20 of her game-high 26 points in the first half when the Athenians (2-8) raced out to a 33-19 halftime lead over the Red Ramblers (1-7).
“It was great to see Lauren come out and really get us going in the first half,” Crawfordsville coach Tyler Smith said. “She really got off to a great start and had a lot of confidence and set the tone. Then in the second half we had a lot of people step up and get involved.”
The onslaught continued in the second half when the Athenians scored 18 points in the third quarter and then exploded for 25 points in the fourth quarter.
For the game, the Athenians placed four girls in double figures. Kellerman led the way with 26 points and Peyton Sennet found her long-range shot and netted 16 points (12 coming on four 3-pointers). Sophomore Shea Williams added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds and sophomore Kearston Hutchens added 10 points off the bench.
Smith was happy to see Sennet knock down the long-range shots.
“She had a lot of confidence and we told her coming into the season we needed her to be one of our big-time players and she is really coming into her own,” Smith said.
Williamson continued to catch the eye of the coaching staff.
“She stuffed the stat sheet tonight,” Smith said. “We also had her with five steals and like seven assists as well as running the offense. She does it all.”
Perhaps the biggest smile came to Smith’s face when he started talking about the total team effort his team put forth in the game.
“It’s great to have a game like this where everyone did something,” he said. “It’s got to be a confidence builder. We have a couple of really tough games coming up against some Lafayette schools to have a game where everyone got in and contributed should be a boost for all the girls.”
In addition to the best offensive output for a Crawfordsville team in 105 games (a 78-61 win over Hamilton Heights on Feb. 3, 2015) Smith was pleased with his team’s defensive effort which led to 39 Attica turnovers, which led the 32 points.
Overall, seven different Athenians broke into the scoring column.
The 41-point margin of victory was the largest for a Crawfordsville team since an 83-33 win over Turkey Run on Nov. 18, 2014. The win was also the largest margin of victory on the road since the Athenians beat Southmont in the first round of the Sugar Creek Classic 67-24 in 2009.
The Athenians will take on West Lafayette on Friday, before battling Central Catholic after that next Tuesday.
Crawfordsville 76, Attica 35
Crawfordsville 19 14 18 25 — 76
Attica 9 10 9 7 — 35
CRAWFORDSVILLE (2-8): Reed 0-0 0-0 0, Simmons 2-5 0-2 4, Kellerman 9-22 8-10 26, Williamson 4-9 1-2 10, Sonnet 6-10 0-0 16, Hutchens 4-7 0-0 10, York 3-4 0-0 6, Helsel 2-4 0-0 4, Kincaid 0-1 0-2 0, Balaz 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-63 9-14 76.
ATTICA (1-8): Moore 1-8 0-2 2, Marshall 2-3 0-2 4, Nunnally 1-5 0-2 2, Rice 2-9 2-2 7, Swift 6-13 3-5 15, Howard 2-8 1-2 5, Greenwood 0-0 0-0 0, Connoly 0-0 0-0 0, Britt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-47 6-15 35.
3-Point Shooting:CHS 8-19 (Kellerman 0-4, Williamson 1-3, Sennet 4-7, Hutchens 2-4, Helsel 0-1); A 1-5 (Moore 0-1, Marshall 0-1, Nunnally 0-1, Rice 1-1, Howard 0-1, Marshall 0-1).
Rebounds: CHS 37 (Williamson 10, Simmons 9, Balaz 5); A 43 (Swift 9, Moore 7).
Fouls: CHS 18 (York); A 14
Turnovers: CHS 16; A 39
