NORTH ROBINSON — Colonel Crawford defeated visiting Edison 38-25 on Thursday night in the Division III girls sectional semifinals, using a solid second half to fuel the win.
The game started out started slowly with Colonel Crawford leading 8-4 over Edison after one quarter. Edison was able to pick up the pace in the second quarter, which ended up being their best eight minutes of the game as a team. The Lady Chargers led 15-14 at the break.
“We told our kids we have to play inside at halftime. We can’t just stand and jack up shots. We did that better in the second half,” said Colonel Crawford coach Kyle Fenner.
The third quarter was the turning point for Colonel Crawford. Senior Allison Teglovic scored six of her game-high 15 points in the period to give her team a 28-25 lead going into the final quarter. It was the start of the offense finally starting to roll for the Lady Eagles.
“I’ve said it before, Allison Teglovic is a self-made basketball player. She understands the game and she’s a student of the game. During the summer it can be 90 degrees and she’s at her house shooting the basketball,” Fenner noted.
The Lady Eagles clamped down in the final quarter and didn’t allow Edison to score a single point. Junior Kaylyn Risner scored 11 points in this one, seven of which came in the final eight minutes.
“We would have liked to play a little faster. First half we were a little bit more on our game plan, second half was just a struggle,” said Edison coach Ryan Kurt regarding his team’s struggles late.
Controlling the pace was key for Colonel Crawford in the second half.
“I thought in the second half we calmed down, ran our offense and got some good looks. We were able to get the lead and dictate what we do,” Fenner explained.
Leading the way for Edison was junior Lindsay Roberts with nine points. Senior guard Aliyah Caporini added eight for the Chargers.
“We’ve been a good defensive team the last two years, tonight we just couldn’t get the ball in the hole. I thought we lost patience there in the third and fourth quarter,” Kurt added.
Thursday’s victory was the first in tournament play for the Lady Eagles since the 2015-2016 season.
“It’s a great win. It was a lot of fun and I’m happy for our seniors,” Fenner said. “We have five seniors who have worked hard, played together — I am just really happy for them. They have done the right things the last two years.”
Next up for Colonel Crawford is a trip to Bascom on Saturday to face No. 2 seed Hopewell-Loudon. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
