MECCA — Crawfordsville’s girls basketball team picked up a big road win at Riverton Parke Thursday and a big dose of confidence with a 52-31 victory over the Panthers.
The win moves the Athenians to 4-14, while Riverton Parke falls to 2-15.
“It equals last year’s win total,” C’ville coach Tyler Smith said. “We came into a hostile environment and faced down the adversity.”
The visitors were also forced to play without leading scorer Lauren Kellerman for nearly eight minutes as the senior was on the bench with early foul trouble.
While the Athenians were in the middle of a 7-0 run when she left, her team was up 19-11 when she returned with 3:41 left in the first half.
“Kearston (Hutchens) came in and really gave us a life when she (Kellerman) was out with two fouls,” Smith said, “but we had different girls at different times really give us a lift. Riverton Parke had a big pep block with a lot of energy, and the game was rugged and chippy, but we stayed within ourselves and responded well. Then, when we were up five at the half, we came out and outscored them by eight points in both the third and fourth quarters. We really responded well.”
Shea Williamson was also all over the floor for the Athenians, as the sophomore had nine points, a dozen rebounds, eight steals, three assists and a two blocked shots.
“She is our stat-stuffer,” Smith said of the guard, who played the entire 32 minutes. “She finished at plus-21 for us tonight.”
Kellerman, who had but a lone 3-pointer at halftime, found her way to the rim in the second half and finished with a game-best 20, four better than her average.
“It was the quietest 20 points I’ve ever seen,” said assistant coach Kiersten Long, who was helping with stats after the game.
Olivia Reed had nine points, Kearston Simmons had a big fourth quarter with four points and six of her eight rebounds, and Maycee York had three of the Athenians nine blocked shots.
For the game, C’ville was 16-of-52 from the field as both teams struggled to find the rim. They were 7-of-23 from 3-point range and 13-of-22 from the line. They finished with 49 rebounds and 17 turnovers.
The Panthers were 9-of-56 from the field and 3-of-11 from long range. The were 10-of-29 from the line and had 22 turnovers, which Crawfordsville turned into 21 points. They grabbed 53 rebounds.
They were led in scoring by Macey Barnes and her 10 points. Freshman Bailey Duke, who had 13 rebounds against Southmont two weeks ago, hauled in 22, a school record, to go with her eight points.
“We learned we can play without Kellerman,” Smith said. “We just kept after it. We played with confidence. Since the Lebanon loss, we have been in every game. Some we have won and some not. Next is to go win one that we are not expected to win. I’m excited for the final stretch of games.”
The Athenians are idle until next Tuesday, when they travel to Covington.
JV game
The Athenians had a hot start and cruised to a 53-31 win. Winter Helsel led Crawfordsville with 22 points and Elyse Widmer added 18.
CRAWFORDSVILLE 52 RIVERTON PARKE 31
CRAWFORDSVILLE 13 8 12 19 — 52
RIVERTON PARKE 10 6 4 11 — 31
Crawfordsville (4-14): Reed 2-10 3-4 9, Kellerman 6-15 5-6 20, Williamson 3-9 1-1 9, Sinnet 1-6 2-4 4, York 1-4 0-0 2, Hutchens 1-1 0-1 2, Simmons 1-5 2-5 4, Balaz 1-2 0-0 2, Helsel 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-5213-22 52.
Riverton Parke (2-15): Barnes 3-11 2-2 10, Ingram 1-6 4-4 6, Fellows 1-6 0-3 2, Duke 3-19 2-5 8, Bennett 0-8 2-6 2, Mathas 1-5 0-0 3, Nowicki 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 9-56 10-20 31.
3-Point Shooting: CHS 7-23 (Reed 2-8, Kellerman 3-5, Williamson 2-4, Sinnet 0-5, Simmons 0-1); RP 3-11 (Barnes 2-4, Ingram 0-1, Mathas 1-2, Bennett 0-2, Duke 0-2).
Rebounds: CHS 49 (Williamson 12, Simmons 8, Kelleman 6, Hutchens 5); RP 53(Duke 22, Bennett 6, Barnes 5).
Turnovers: Crawfordsville 17, Riverton Parke 22.
