St. Mary CC overwhelms Crestline

SANDUSKY — Last year was a long season for St. Mary Central Catholic. The Panthers won just one game and it didn't come until Jan. 16. SMCC matched that total on the first night of the high school basketball season. Freshman Reid Didion registered 19 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, helping lead the Panthers to a 50-32 non-league win over Crestline on Friday. "It was good," Didion said. "It was nerve-racking in the first quarter, but I think tonight was a good start. It was a lot of excitement." The night got started with a massive 67-15 win by the SMCC junior varsity team. Panthers coach Kevin Youskievicz said that set the tone. He and assistant coach Annie Milkie believe it's been six or seven years since SMCC girls basketball won both games on one night. "To start off the season with a double victory with both junior varsity and varsity is just amazing," Youskievicz said. "Seeing the struggles we went through with last year's team and talking to my seniors and the members of the team, we know it was a struggle. We actually had a program from the first day school let out and they've enacted it." SMCC played the Bulldogs last year. Crestline came away with a 34-13 win. The Panthers nearly turned that margin completely around this time. "It means a lot to us," SMCC senior Allison Lill said. "We've been working so hard in practice and it's great to see something come together. We've been building and building. It's just the first layer of the foundation. We want to build more and keep going." For the first six-plus minutes of the game, it looked like it would be the same outcome. Jocelyn Noblit got to the rim with ease for the Bulldogs as Crestline opened a 16-8 lead. Didion scored and Lill nailed a 3-pointer to bring SMCC within 16-13 after one quarter. In the second quarter, freshman Finley Karr scored consecutive buckets to give the Panthers their first lead. Didion added a bucket off an offensive rebound before back-to-back scores from Lill and Didion made it 23-17. SMCC led 25-19 at halftime, limiting Crestline to just three points the final 9:20 of the half. The defense continued for the Panthers in the third quarter. Lill made another 3 and a bucket from Lauren Maxwell extended the Panthers' lead to 30-19. Crestline didn't score for the first 6:22 of the quarter as SMCC continued to dominate. Even after the Bulldogs got consecutive tallies from Korri Nechovski and Kylie Kelly, SMCC answered with a bucket from freshman Evelyn Shafrath to lead 32-23 after three quarters. The Panthers put the final nails in the coffin early in the fourth quarter. Freshman Rae Roth opened the quarter with a 3-pointer before Didion made it 37-23 with 6:20 to go. Youskievicz was impressed with the play of Didion, Karr, Roth and Shafrath. "At one time we had four freshmen out there," he said. "We knew what kind of girls we had coming in from junior high. We knew what they were capable of doing. I'll be honest — I didn't think we'd get them in there that fast. I thought more like toward the end of the second quarter or second half. "But, when we started getting girls in foul trouble, it was baptism by fire." Didion made a 3 for a 40-25 lead and added two free throws lfor a 46-29 advantage with 2:17 remaining. "The fact we have a junior varsity team is a big help," Youskievicz said. "It gives the girls more playing time to get their skills to where they need to be. Our emphasis is team. Last year we had players, but we lacked team. We didn't have that team feel." Lill finished with seven points and six rebounds while Karr had six points and four rebounds. Crestline was forced into 26 turnovers and made just 11 of 30 shot attempts. "Like I told the girls, we still have a lot to work on," Youskievicz said. "We're not going to pull no punches. I think sometimes we played too much with our hands and not with our feet. We have to work on footwork. I think foul shots are definitely a thing. We have to work on the close shots. "I'm glad we won tonight and I told the girls to enjoy it because it's been a lot time coming." Didion is looking for big things to turn around the SMCC girls basketball program. "I really wanted to change something," Didion said. "I really wanted to do something to this program. I think tonight was something good." CRESTLINE (0-1) Jocelyn Noblit 3 9-13 15, Kylie Kelly 2 0-0 4, Amarie Silverwood 1 0-2 3, Korri Nechovski 1 0-0 2, Bridget Belcik 1 0-0 2, Baylei Berry 0 0-2 0, Lily Mills 2 0-0 4, Tianna Jackson 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 11 9-17 32. SMCC (1-0) Lauren Maxwell 1 0-0 2, Allison Lill 3 0-3 8, Ella Brownell 0 0-0 0, Madi Perkins 2 0-0 4, Laney Torres 2 0-0 4, Reid Didion 8 2-2 19, Finley Karr 3 0-0 6, Rae Roth 1 0-2 3, Evelyn Shafrath 2 0-0 4. TOTALS 22 2-7 50 Crestline 16 3 4 9 — 32St. Mary CC 13 12 7 18 — 50 Three-point goals: Crestline 1 (Silverwood); SMCC 4 (Lill 2, Didion, Roth)