Berkshire turned a tight conference battle into a convincing win by locking down defensively when it mattered most, pulling away from visiting Crestwood for a 39-24 Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division victory on Friday.
With the win, the Badgers improved to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in league play, while Crestwood dropped to 5-4 overall and 4-1 in the Valley.
“The Berkshire girls did a very good job on defense with rotations and communications,” said Berkshire coach Dave Albert. “The defense was a big part of this win by allowing only one basket in the last 11 minutes of the game.”
The turning point came late in the third quarter after Crestwood scored with 3:08 left to cut the deficit to 25-22. From there, Berkshire’s defense took over, limiting the Red Devils to just two points the rest of the way and outscoring them 14-2 down the stretch, including a 12-2 advantage in the fourth quarter.
Offensively, Berkshire leaned on a balanced attack led by Julia Young, who finished with a game-high 14 points, including four 3-pointers. Several of those came in the second half as Crestwood tried to mount a comeback. Stella Bateman gave the Badgers an early spark, scoring eight of her 10 points in the first quarter to help Berkshire build a 13-7 lead after one. Moira Wonders added six points, Ivy Martin scored five, and Blythe Bors and Whitney Davis chipped in two points apiece. Berkshire also converted 6-of-9 attempts from the free throw line.
“There were a few key plays in the game,” Albert said. “One is Julia hit some three in the second half while being tightly guarded and secondly, the defense became locked in and laser-focused, boxing out, rotating and communicating with their teammates.”
Crestwood was paced by Liv Martini with nine points and Ava Lincoln with six, while Maddie Grace Gonczy scored four, Jackie Blasiole added three, and Reese Harper finished with two.
Despite staying within striking distance through three quarters, the Red Devils struggled to generate quality looks once Berkshire tightened its rotations and rebounding.
The win carried added weight in the conference race, keeping Berkshire firmly in contention.
“This game was almost a must-win for Berkshire, as Crestwood was undefeated in conference play and we had one loss,” Albert said. “If we would have lost this game, this would have put Berkshire, Rootstown, and Chagrin Falls all two games out of first place with two losses each. Now there are four teams all within one game of first place.”
Berkshire hosts Edgewood on Dec. 22, while Crestwood hosts Roosevelt on the same day.
