Creek pulls away at St. C to win 4th-straight
ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- Indian Creek is now four games removed from perhaps its most disappointing performance of the season.
Head coach Steve Eft's Redskins didn't perform up to standard in a loss to Bellaire, but since, Creek has rectified those momentary struggles.
Creek continued its strong play Monday in St. Clairsville, winning its fourth game in a row via a convincing 69-22 victory against the homestanding Red Devils.
Sharing and caring is the name of the game recently, as in sharing the wealth offensively and taking care of the basketball.
"The last three games, we've been sharing the ball a lot better," Eft said as his team improved to 12-2. "Against Harrison we had 23 assists, Minerva 22, and we kept out turnovers to under 10.
"That's kind of what we're looking for, moving the ball quickly on offense and our defense played good again. We played with great energy to start and I'm happy with that."
McKenna Scott led the way with 16 points, including 10 in the first quarter as Creek raced out to a 21-6 lead early to set the tone.
Kylie Anderson backed her with 15 points and Tori Robertson added nine.
Robertson wasn't the only Redskins player with nine, however, as freshman Kaydence Walker had another solid game off the bench, scoring nine points and provided solid defensive pressure on the opposite end.
Walker is beginning to emerge as a legit threat off the bench as she's averaged 10.6 points per game her last five outings.
"She's coming along and had a nice game shooting at Mineva too," Eft said. "She's shooting with confidence. She's been huge off the bench with her offensive production, but also on the defense too. Her length and quickness she can use to her advantage on the defensive end as well."
Eft is pleased with the development of his bench.
Walker is the budding weapon, but Creek also routinely receives solid efforts from Riley Sadler and Emma Westfall off the bench. Westfall scored eight Monday while Sadler added three.
"We have a deeper bench than we've had in the past and hopefully that continues moving forward."
The Red Devils are also moving forward, albeit it in smaller increments. Head coach Stacey Agnew's team is 2-9 and while it allowed eight more points this time out against Creek, it also scored five more than the previous outing.
More importantly, the team played better in the first half.
There are plenty of rough edges till to smooth out, but Agnew knew the challenge his team faced Monday.
"I think we played a little better, but the score doesn't indicate that," he said. "They wear you down with their size and strength. They are a good team that can hurt you inside or outside.
"We have to keep working and find the right combinations."
Anna Kain and Kesslee Barrera each scored eight for St. C. and have been the team's two most consistent scorers. Agnew knows developing that third and fourth option will be paramount going forward.
"They are coming along, Kiya (Kyer) is a freshman and she's devleoping, but we all have to put more time in on our shooting," Agnew said. "A lot of our girls played a lot of jayvee ball last year and the game speed is different as you come up. They are learning though and we just have to keep working."
St. C. hosts Harrison Central on Thursday, one of the two teams the Red Devils previously defeated this season.
Indian Creek 69, St. Clairsville 22
Indian Creek 21 23 14 11 - 69
St. Clairsville 6 8 4 4 - 22
I - Walker 4 0-0 9; Scott 7 2-3 16; Taylor 1 0-0 2; Wiley 0 0-0 0; Sadler 1 1-2 3; Paoloemilio 0 0-0 0; Dray 1 0-0 2; Bates-Dallman 0 0-0 0; Westfall 4 0-0 8; Ketron 2 0-0 5; Anderson 6 2-4 15; Robertson 3 2-2 9; Ade 0 0-0 0; Totals: 29 7-11 69.
S - Powell 0 0-0 0; Druzin 0 0-0 0; Kain 3 0-0 8; Kyer 1 0-0 2; Barrera 4 0-2 8; Sall 0 2-4 2; East 0 0-0 0; Togbah 0 0-0 0; Reed 0 2-2 2; Monteroso 0 0-0 0; Totals: 9 4-8 22.
Three-point Goals: Walker, Ketron, Anderson, Robertson. Kain 2.