Brandewie’s fourth quarter…Avery Brandewie’s three critical field goals at the start led to 16 points in the fourth quarter of Loramie’s 50-41 win over Crestview in the Division IV state semi-final. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Sonny Fulks and Julie McMaken Wright)
Stymied for the first half, Fort Loramie used a pair of second half bursts to overcome Convoy Crestview and advance to the Division IV final on Saturday.
UD Arena – After the drama and stress, Carla Siegel sat down to do the polite and correct things you do at an OHSAA post-game press conference.
A seasoned pro at this, Siegel said all the right things about a vanquished opponent (Convoy Crestview), and paid tribute to her team and her seniors, who delivered a 50-41 win just in time to secure a date with Waterford in Saturday’s finals.
But she was not that pleased by the means in which they got there. Loramie had not played like Loramie – had wasted a half of perfectly good basketball against a team good enough to rob you of the opportunity that many never receive.
Loramie amped up the defense in the second half…”and we quit making shots,” said Crestview coach Mark Gregory.
Percentage-wise, they shot 50% for the first half. But they couldn’t get a lead…couldn’t get in a position where they could deliver that early knockout blow so familiar with Redskins basketball. They couldn’t press, couldn’t invoke their turnover-to-transition game, and Crestview’s effective zone defense forced them to stand, pass around the perimeter, and in basketball terms…waste valuable disruptive time.
It allowed Convoy Crestview (26-2), a team with an identical record to Loramie’s, to settle in, make some three-point shots, and grow comfortable with the knowledge that as long as they continued to make Loramie inactive, they were safe from the inevitable.
Later, during the press conference, Siegel admitted, “We didn’t play very well, offense or defense, in the first half.”
They didn’t shoot well on offense against Crestview’s version of the 1-3-1 zone. Blessed with size and the long arms of center Myia Etzler, that zone looked more intimidating than the garden-variety 1-3-1.
Minster Dental proudly support area sports of all sorts on Press Pros.
And on defense Crestview’s size in the middle with Etzler (6’2″) made Siegel think differently – abandon the kind of harassment they usually reserve for opposing guards. It allowed Crestview to an 11-7 first quarter lead, and a 23-19 half half lead.
“They’ve got great players,” said Carla Siegel. Crestview’s Kacy Gregory shoots over Avery Branewie in the second half of Thursday’s Div. IV semi-final.
“They’ve got great players,” Siegel gave credit to Crestview. “They’ve got some great shooters and they made a bunch of threes in the first half. I don’t know how many they had in the second half…I know they had a couple there at the end…..
“But, I can’t say enough about how our girls did not show any defeat on the floor. We preach team basketball at Loramie, and I thought these girls played team basketball today. And team basketball [ultimately] won the game.”
It’s a well-known basketball axiom that the first four minutes of the second half sets the tone for the game. No where was it more evident than with the way Siegel’s Redskins came out of the halftime locker room.
“I just asked them in the locker room if they were ready for the season to be over?” she smiled.
They answered.
Dorsten Contracting proudly supports Shelby County League sports on Press Pros.
Summer Hoying, Avery Brandewie, Victoria Mescher, and Skyler Albers delivered an 8-0 run out of the locker room that quickly turned a 23-19 deficit into a 27-23 lead, Loramie’s first of the game.
But it was short-lived, as Crestview called a timeout, regrouped, and came back to tie and go ahead on the backs of the Gregory sisters, Cali and Kaci. At the end of three, the Knights had restored their halftime margin, 33-29.
But the real Fort Loramie showed up coming out of the huddle for the start of the fourth quarter.
“They amped up their pressure, as we expected,” said Crestview coach Mark Gregory.
Victoria Mescher fights through Crestview’s zone in the second half.
“And we quit making shots.”
The two actually go hand-in-hand, but Loramie finally swallowed their inhibitions, realized that Crestview might be bigger, but not necessarily better, and began to make some shots of their own.
Avery Brandewie literally carried them to Saturday’s title game, scoring 16 of her team-high 22 points in the quarter. But the first six were the most important. They wiped out the Crestview lead – tied at 35-35 – and delivered the reality of Loramie basketball, if only in the form of half-court trapping defense.
“I was concerned about the quality of their guards,” said Siegel, when asked why she didn’t order the kamikaze strike once Brandewie had tied the game. “I respect that team, and I didn’t feel comfortable with full-court pressure without a bigger lead.”
But Brandewie’s points had broken the ice, Victoria Mescher subsequently added a basket, and now with the clock ticking away, Crestview had to foul.
In the moment…celebrating Avery Brandewie’s bucket in the third quarter that led the way to a 21-8 run, and the win.
That wasn’t easy, either, as Brandewie missed the front half of two consecutive trips to the line, and Jaden Rose missed a front half. But overall, Brandewie hit 10 of 12 for the quarter, Skyler Albers hit a pair, and collectively they finished 13 of 16.
And when the clock struck midnight (0:00), there went up a collective sigh of relief. Just like with last week’s regional semi-final in over Russia, they had survived, and maybe conceded too much, given that they never served the final course of the typical Loramie experience.
“The thing you have to remember about Crestview is that their guards are very good, and their 6’2″ girl has long arms and makes their zone look like you’re playing extra people,” said Siegel. “It just took us a while to figure out how to get around that zone.”
Brandewie led them with 22 points, Victoria Mescher had 9, Skyler Albers had 6, Jaden Rose finished with 4, Hoying had 4, and Ariel Heitkamp had 2 points.
Wilson Health proudly sponsors SCAL sports on Press Pros Magazine.com.
For Crestview, it was mostly about Cali Gregory and Ellie Kline. Gregory matched Brandewie with 22 points, Kline had 10, and Kaci Gregory chipped in 7 points. Myia Etzler had 2.
The long and the short of the final score? Loramie outscored Crestview in the fourth quarter…21 to 8!
Waterford’s next, a team that Loramie has seen before, knows well, and like Convoy Crestview…they respect the Wildcats from Washington County, winners of the 2022 and 2016 title. Coached by veteran Jerry Close, they’ve been to the state Final Four seven times.
What Siegel can hope for is a reprise of how they came back from the Russia game last week to play against Marion Local. But based on Thursday’s win over Crestview, they need to get the early lead, and not rely on passive basketball for so long.
If they do, Siegel and Company can go full monty – the real Loramie experience – despite the fact that Waterford has good guards, too, and plenty of size with 6’4″ Avery Wagner.
And they’re bound to see zone defense.
“Hopefully we can work the ball out to our comfort spots and make some shots,” Siegel promised.
Hopefully.
But don’t bet on it taking so long to find them.
An appreciative Loramie coach Carla Siegel shares Thursday’s win with the student cheering section.
The ‘Spot’ is the presenting sponsor of the 2024 OHSAA basketball tournaments on Press Pros Magazine.com.