REBOUNDING — Indian Creek’s Abby Copeland hauls in a rebounds past East Liverpool’s Emma Ludwig, left, and Victoria Flores on Monday. -Joe Catullo

WINTERSVILLE — Indian Creek turned up the heat, and East Liverpool could not handle the pressure.

The Indian Creek girls basketball team got off to a fast start and never looked back as the Redskins raced past the Potters, 66-31, in a Buckeye 8 North Division matchup Monday night at home to remain undefeated on the season.

“The point of emphasis for us tonight was to turn on the pressure,” Indian Creek (11-0, 6-0) head coach Steve Eft said. “They played us tough up there. We were geared up for this game. The girls were geared up for the game. I was very happy with our energy in the first half. We gave a great effort defensively early on in the game.”

The Potters committed 32 turnovers on the night, and they were held to single digits in scoring in each of the first two quarters of the game.

“Indian Creek does a very good job of that,” East Liverpool (5-4) head coach Bryian Burson said. “We have to handle it. We did not handle it well. We had a couple of nice sets early on and we got some decent shots, but we could not knock them down. I think that turned the tide. If we were able to make some of those shots, the game would have been a little closer. If the game was a little closer, they probably would have turned up the pressure, and we would have had to handle it.

“We expected Indian Creek to press. At times, we got some decent looks. Other times, we did not handle it, and that fuels their runs. That is what makes them so good.”

Indian Creek committed just six turnovers — five coming in the second half.

The Redskins received strong play on the outside and on the inside en route to the victory. The hosts drained eight 3-pointers, while also outscoring and rebounding the bigger Potters on the inside.

Three players produced double digits in points for Indian Creek. Hailey Clark collected a game-high 18 points, Kylie Kiger recorded 17 and Makenzie Taylor tallied 12.

Clark drained five 3-pointers in the game, while Kiger recorded three baskets from beyond the arc.

“We missed some shots tonight, but our defensive pressure was outstanding,” Eft said. “We played really hard in the first half. In the locker room, the girls felt like they left some points on the floor. We told them to keep playing hard and good things were going to happen. We got some shots to go down in the second half. We shot the ball really well from beyond the arc.”

Despite the Potters’ big size advantage, Taylor and Taylor Jones outscored (18-11) and out-rebounded (15-14) East Liverpool’s inside duo of Emma Ludwig and Ciara Peachey.

Ludwig delivered a team-high nine points and 10 rebounds to lead the way for the visitors, while Mikayla Reed and Shayla Foster each finished with five points.

“I thought we rebounded well tonight despite them having the size advantage,” Eft said. “Taylor Jones, Makenzie Taylor and Abby Copeland battled on the inside. I was happy with how we rebounded tonight.”

The Redskins stormed out to a 12-0 lead in the first quarter before taking a 14-3 lead into the second quarter. In the second, the victor’s advantage grew to 23 points (29-6) before taking a 29-10 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Clark sank three 3-pointers in the third, and Kiger netted one as Indian Creek outscored East Liverpool, 23-11, in the quarter to extend its advantage to 52-21 entering the fourth. The Redskins increased their advantage to a game-high 39 points (60-21) in the fourth.

“Not counting our record, I like where we are right now,” Eft said. “We are playing good basketball. The girls have done a good job of jelling. They are a close knit group.

“We can still get better. We have goals we want to reach. Every day we come into the gym, we want to get better. That is our focus. The girls are working hard, and they are playing hard.”

The Redskins defeated the Potters, 39-33, Dec. 9 at Potter Fieldhouse.

“There were a couple of differences in the games,” Burson said. “For one, we did not have as many turnovers, and second, Indian Creek did not shoot nearly as well as they did tonight. You are not going to beat Indian Creek when they shoot like that. Indian Creek is not a team we are going to be 70-68. We need it to be more of a low-scoring game.

“Indian Creek does a good job of going on spurts. You are down four or five, and the next thing you know you look up and you are down 15 in the blink of an eye.”

Kiger contributed a game-high 13 points, and made three 3-pointers, in Indian Creek’s come from behind victory in the two teams’ first meeting of the season.

“We did not shoot the ball well up there,” Eft said. “We left a lot of points out on the floor. We missed a lot of shots.

“Our gameplan tonight was not different. We wanted to make good passes, we wanted to attack the basket, and we told them if they do that, good things are going to happen.”

GAME NOTE

Indian Creek won the JV game, 37-32 in overtime. Mary Ballato tallied a game-high 18 points to lead the way for the Redskins, while Aliyah Parsons produced 13 points for the Potters.

UP NEXT

Indian Creek: Slated to play Beaver Local on the road.

“Honestly, we don’t talk about our record,” Eft said. “We just take it one game at a time. Now, our focus is Beaver Local. We want to come back in the gym and get ready for Beaver Local. We take it one game at a time. We get ready for our next opponent.”

East Liverpool: Slated to Buckeye Local at home.

“It is going to be a test for us,” Burson said. “Hopefully, we are not feeling too sorry for ourselves. We have goals we want to attain, and even with this loss those goals are still within reach. Hopefully, we are not feeling too sorry for ourselves.

“We want to have a good day of practice Wednesday and get ready to play Buckeye Local.”

Indian Creek 66, East Liverpool 31

East Liverpool 3 7 11 10 — 31

Indian Creek 14 15 23 14 — 66

EAST LIVERPOOL (5-4): Vandelburg 0 0-0 0; Peachey 1 0-0 2; Taylor 1 0-0 4; Flores 0 0-0 0; Reed 2 0-0 5; Parsons 1 0-2 2; Ferrazzano 1 0-0 2; Foster 2 1-2 5; Ludwig 4 1-2 9; Rogers 1 0-0 2; Flores 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 14 2-6 31.

INDIAN CREEK (11-0): Lewis 2 0-0 4; Kiger 6 3-3 18; Tweedy 2 2-2 6; Taylor 6 0-0 12; Copeland 2 0-1 4; Clark 6 0-2 17; Jones 1 3-6 5; Ballato 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 25 8-14 66.

3-POINTERS: East Liverpool 1 (Reed); Indian Creek 8 (Clark 5, Kiger 3). REBOUNDS: East Liverpool 27 (Ludwig 10); Indian Creek 23 (Jones 10). TURNOVERS: East Liverpool 32; Indian Creek 6.