Crest girls fend off Marmaton Valley

MORAN — Elaine Holloway’s message Friday to her Crest High Lady Lancers was clear — if they were going to win, defense would be key.
It was.
Crest held the fort on several key possessions down the stretch in a 29-23 victory over host Marmaton Valley High.
“I was proud of them for their defensive effort,” Holloway said. “They got flustered at times, and they made some silly mistakes, but they kept their intensity to the end.”
The Lady Lancers led by as many as 11 in the third quarter, and with Marmaton Valley junior standout Mackenzie Tynon sidelined with foul trouble, Crest appeared to have things in control.
But the Wildcats put forth some spirited defense of their own.
Marmaton Valley’s Misty  Storrer scored six straight points by herself to cut the gap to 19-16 before the period ended. Kyla Drake’s basket with just under the 6-minute mark pulled Marmaton Valley to within 21-20.
“Even though we were still up one, it felt like we were behind,” Holloway said. “But the girls kept playing hard, and they finished strong.”
“Our free throws killed us,” Marmaton Valley head coach Gavin Cole said, noting the Wildcats missed six consecutive charities at one point in the second half, including the front end of a one-and-one.
That’s when Crest’s Miranda Golden took over. She scored off a nice assist from Karlee Hammond to push Crest back up by three, 23-20. Golden then added a pair of key blocks to keep the lead intact untl Laurel Godderz scored with 3:50 left. Golden’s putback with 2:54 remaining pushed the lead to 27-20.
Tynon converted a 3-point play with 2:44 left in the game, but that proved to be the Wildcats’ final points of the contest. Another Hammond-to-Golden connection in the waning seconds provided Crest’s final basket to seal the win.
“We’ve got to figure out a way to score, especially when they condense their zone like they did tonight,” Cole said. “We made a run at them at the end of the third quarter, because the girls started getting after it. They had some good intensity. We need to have that intensity from start to finish.”
Golden led the way for Crest with 12 points — eight coming in the fourth quarter — while Godderz scored 11 and was responsible for guarding Tynon for much of the game.
“Laurel Godderz had a great game defensively,” Holloway said. “We knew the Tynon girl is a great player, so we wanted to try to keep her from getting the ball inside.”
Storrer led the Wildcats with nine points, while Tynon wound up with six.
Cole praised the play of senior guard Ashley Cary, who had two quick steals in succession as the Wildcats came back in the third period. In another sequence, Cary forced a jump ball, giving possession back to Marmaton Valley.
“Ashley did a real good job,” Cole said. “She did a nice job of pressuring their ball handlers.”
Crest hit 3 of 5 free throws. Marmaton Valley was a cool 5 of 15.
Marmaton Valley (2-6) travels to St. Paul Tuesday. Crest (2-5) returns to action next Friday at home against Altoona-Midway.
Crest 29, Marmaton Valley 24.
Crest (8-7-4-10—29) (FG-FT-F-TP): M. Covey 1-0-5-2, Jackman 0-0-1-0, Godderz 5-1-1-11, Golden 6-0-4-12, Hammond 0-2-3-2, T. Covey 1-0-3-2. TOTALS: 13-3-17-29.
Marmaton Valley (2-6-8-7—23) (FG-FT-F-TP): Cary 0-0-2-0, Stevenson 1-0-0-2, Storrer 4-1-2-9, Drake 2-0-4-4, Newman 1-0-0-2, Tynon 1-4-4-6. TOTALS: 9-5-12-23.