Crestview is 8-1 against Allen East since February of 2017 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Crestview Knights will be playing in front of their home fans against the Allen East Mustangs at 6:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Allen East will be up against a hot Crestview squad: the team just extended their winning streak to 13. Everything went Crestview's way against Jefferson on Saturday as Crestview made off with a 51-31 victory. Given the Knights' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 58th, while the Wildcats are ranked 402nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Ellie Kline
| 02/15/25 vs Jefferson | 12 |
| 01/23/24 vs Van Wert | 9 |
| 01/14/25 vs Coldwater | 8 |
| 02/24/24 vs Gorham Fayette | 8 |
| 01/30/24 vs Shawnee | 8 |
Ellie Kline continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double with 11 points and 12 assists. Those 12 assists gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Kaci Gregory, who went 5-for-6 to rack up 10 points and three steals.
Meanwhile, Allen East had already proven themselves in the regular season and they didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They blew past Lincolnview 61-35 on Saturday. The win continues a trend for the Mustangs in their matchups with the Lancers: they've now won five in a row.
Allen East's win came from a few key players Crestview will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Rilynn Jones, who posted 18 points along with seven boards and five assists. Her evening made it seven games in a row in which she has scored at least 16 points. Another player making a difference was Evelyn Lehman, who went 5-for-10 on her way to 19 points.
Crestview pushed their record up to 21-3 with the victory, which was their 21st straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 28.4 points over those games. As for Allen East, their win bumped their record up to 19-4.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Crestview has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 23.7 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Allen East struggles in that department as they've been averaging 22.8 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Crestview didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Allen East in their previous meeting back in January, but they still walked away with a 69-65 victory. Does Crestview have another victory up their sleeve, or will Allen East turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
