Lady Knights crush ’Cats on hardwood

By Brooke Apple, bapple
Published:  Saturday, February 9, 2008 (9 months, 2 weeks ago)
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CONVOY — The Jefferson Lady Wildcats traveled over to the “Kingdom” to face off with the Crestview Lady Knights for a Northwest Conference battle.
The Knights sent their seniors off with a win in their last home game as they destroyed the Wildcats 73-26.
In the first quarter, the Wildcats kept close most of the way but the Knights pulled away towards the end. Jefferson got off to a good start as Emily Fought (9 points, 2 rebounds) scored the first points with a 3-pointer. Carly Lichtensteiger (14 points, 7 rebounds) and Kelsey Nedderman (9 points, 7 rebounds) came up huge for the Knights, hitting the boards for putbacks for a total of seven points each. The Knights kept the Wildcats off the boards and forced several turnovers with their pressure, ending the period in front 20-9.
“I was not happy with our defense in the first quarter but then we were able to come out in the second quarter and make a run after picking up the defense and our shots started coming and falling,” stated Crestview coach Greg Rickard.
The Knights completely blew the Wildcats out in the second quarter 28-7. Jefferson could get nothing moving; all but two of their points were from the stripe. Crestview’s Melissa Eickholt (18 points, 3 rebounds) drained four 3-pointers as Jefferson’s zone struggled to defend any of the Knights’ outside shooters. Jefferson committed 12 turnovers by the half; the Knights, one. The score at halftime was 48-16, Crestview.
“Our size and experience in the paint is a key for us and they did a nice job there. We showed everything and the tournament game will come down to whoever can execute,” added Rickard.
Jefferson’s defense was stronger in the second half, limiting the Knights to 12 points in the third quarter to the ’Cats’ six. The Knights put four people in the scorebook as they built their lead to 60-22 at the end of the period.
Ashley Watkins (4 points, 4 rebounds) led the Wildcats on the boards, battling for rebounds underneath in the second half. The Knights were able to shoot 50% from the field, the Wildcats only 23%.
“Their pressure got to us and our zone did not work with their outside shooters as they got too far ahead early on. Hopefully, we learned some things from this game to take with us on Wednesday,” stated Jefferson coach Dave Hoffman.
The Wildcats netted four points in the final quarter; the Knights, 13. The end of the varsity game was like a fifth quarter of the JV game as both teams emptied their benches for the final three minutes of play. Stacey Blockberger (7 points, 3 rebounds) really started working hard for the Wildcats.
The Wildcats ended up with 23 turnovers to the Knights’ five.
“They are a really nice team that is difficult to matchup with. We need to take care of not allowing them to get turnovers and then fast breaks,” added Hoffman.
The Wildcats fall to 6-14 (1-8 NWC); these same teams will meet again in the Division IV sectional at Wayne Trace Wednesday. Tipoff is approximately 8:15 p.m. The Knights increase to 8-10 (9-0 NWC).
In JV action, the Knights hammered the Wildcats as well 30-15. The Wildcats (6-14 1-7 NWC) were led in scoring by Amanda Hamilton with seven, all of those in the fourth quarter. The Knights (11-7, 6-2 NWC) were led by Madison Preston with 10.

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