DANVILLE — When Danville stepped onto the court Wednesday night, they meant business. The Devils defeated their county foe by a score of 63-51 in Knox-Morrow Athletic Conference play.
A fast start supplied the Devils with plenty of momentum, scoring 20 points and holding East Knox to eight. The X factor of the first quarter was CeCe Newbold, scoring 12 of Danville’s total points against the Bulldogs’ man defense.
After the first quarter the Bulldogs decided it was best to abandon their man defense and switch to a zone.
“We knew they ran 2-3 the first time we played them, so we worked on it this week,” said Danville head coach Matt Proper. “I thought we did a good job playing inside out.”
East Knox regained some ground in the second frame, scoring 13 while holding the Devils to only five points. Six Bulldogs all lit up the scoreboard in the second quarter.
“They fought back, they’re scrappy,” said Proper on the ’Dogs second-quarter comeback.
Heading into the locker room Danville had a 25-21 lead over the Bulldogs.
In the third period, the Danville guards started to find their groove. The prominent three-point shooting from Brooklyn Hess came to life as she hit two from downtown, with an additional two jumpshots. Ally Bower found herself 10 points in the quarter and Erin Mickley scored five. The three accounted for all of the Devils’ 25 points in the third.
This was a Devil-Dog game, and East Knox was not letting anything come easy. Meggan Bartok took care of business, scoring six off of two old-fashioned three point plays. Teammate Taylor Nunamaker splashed one from deep and scored an additional field goal. Together the two combined for 11 of the team’s 17 during the period.
East Knox trailed 50-35 heading into the fourth quarter, and despite putting up their best scoring output, never could get the lead. There was a comined 26 free-throw attempts in the fourth, but not enough in the Bulldogs’ favor, giving Danville the 63-51 victory on Senior Night.
“They had a big first and third quarter,” said East Knox head coach Chip Pozderac. “That first quarter just killed us. The kids got a little discouraged, but they kept fighting.”
Danville was lead in scoring by Bower with 16. Newbold was not far behind, notching 15 and Hess supplied 14. Bartok (17), Nunamaker (11) and Sydney Buckingham (10) lead the Bulldogs and combined for 38.
Danville rises to a record of 8-10 and 7-6 in the KMAC. The Devils hit the road Saturday to play Coshocton for a 1 p.m. JV tip. East Knox dropped to 9-8 on the season and 7-6 in the KMAC, they are set to host Galion on Saturday for senior night with a 1 p.m. JV tip.
