GALION — The 2016-2017 basketball season is officially underway for head coach Nick Vukovich and the Galion Lady Tigers. On Friday, the Tigers played host to the Crestline Lady Bulldogs and first year head coach Aaron Bluey. The game saw a lot of back and forth play, some ups and some downs and when the clock hit triple zeroes, Galion walked away with an opening night victory, 43-31.
Much like any first game of the season, there was some rust and some kinks, but both teams appeared to find a stride of sorts throughout the duration of the matchup.
After the first quarter, Galion found themselves leading a low scoring affair, 9-8. Both teams hit the locker room at the half with the Tigers leading by a score of 19-13. A slow start saw both teams scoring just eight points apiece in the third, putting Galion ahead, 27-21. Clutch free throws and costly turnoves put the game out of reach as the Tigers won the fourth quarter, 16-10.
Leading scorer for the Lady Tigers was Gabby Kaple with 14 points on the night. Lauren Huggins contributed eight points, Kat Talbott and Jamie Ehrman added seven apiece, Natalie Rodriguez gave the Tigers five points and Julie Clouse finished with one bucket for two points. The Tigers shot 50% from the free throw line (11/22) on the night and made two
Lauryn Tadda lead the Lady Bulldogs with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Other scoring for Crestline came from Sarah Toy, Lydia Tadda and Brianna Briggs. Toy hit the teams’ lone three-pointers on the night and contributed eight total points. Lydia Tadda had seven points on the night and Briggs chipped in three and grabbed 12 boards. Overall, the Bulldogs shot 11/41 (27%) from the field, including 1/10 from the three-point line. Free throw shooting proved to be a deciding factor in the loss for the Bulldogs as they struggled from the line, shooting 8/23 (35%) as a team. Crestline also had 40 turnovers.