Crestview is on a seven-game streak of home wins, while Ayersville is on a four-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Crestview Knights will take on the Ayersville Pilots at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. Crestview has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 294 points over their last four matches.
It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Crestview had no problem doing just that on Thursday. They really took it to the Panthers for the full four quarters, racking up a 70-32 win at home. Crestview has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 18 matches by 22 points or more this season.
Crestview can attribute much of their success to Cali Gregory, who scored 20 points, and Ellie Kline, who scored 17 points along with four steals. Gregory has been hot recently, having posted 18 or more points the last 16 times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Kaci Gregory, who scored 14 points along with two steals.
Meanwhile, Ayersville sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 39-37 victory over Montpelier on Thursday. Given Ayersville's advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 97th, while Montpelier is ranked 282nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Ayersville's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Ally Schindler, who scored eight points along with six assists. Another player making a difference was Lanie Sheets, who scored eight points along with two steals.
Crestview is on a roll lately: they've won 14 of their last 15 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 23-2 record this season. As for Ayersville, their win bumped their record up to 24-1.
Saturday's match will pit two of the most dominant guards against one another: Gregory and Schindler. Gregory has been dynamite this season: she has averaged 20.2 points and 2.9 steals. For her part, Schindler has averaged 13.1 points, 3.2 steals, and 1.4 blocks.
Crestview beat Ayersville 46-36 when the teams last played back in February of 2023. Does Crestview have another victory up their sleeve, or will Ayersville turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
