The calendar may have turned to 2025 but the Crestwood Red Devils girls’ basketball team has not yet turned the page. The Red Devils crumbled against Portage County rival Rootstown’s ball pressure losing 52-40 to remain winless in 2025 last Saturday afternoon in Mantua.
“I think Rootstown got us out of what we wanted to do,” said Coach T.J. Henderson. “We have to find ourselves again and do what we want to do and play Red Devil basketball.”
Although Crestwood (7-4, 3-0) and the Rovers have not been conference rivals for the last several years since the Red Devils joined the Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division, that has not prevented the teams from facing each other in non-conference showdowns.
Although Crestwood won its first game against the Rovers after leaving the Portage Trail Conference, it has now lost its last three games against Rootstown.
According to senior guard Hannah Ward, Crestwood has sought to preserve the importance of its Portage County rivalry against the Rovers.
“It is hard for a lot of the young players to realize how big it is,” said the 5-foot-10 senior who scored 10 points, collected five rebounds and dished out one assist in the game last Saturday afternoon. “Walking into my freshman year we were in the CVC so we never really played in the Portage Trail Conference but the older girls know that these are teams to beat and we want to beat them.”
The stakes will only get higher moving forward as Rootstown will once again become conference rivals with the Red Devils when it joins the CVC Valley Division next season.
“It is going to be different,” acknowledged the fourth-year coach. “The division will be tough. Adding them is a big change but I think with what we have in underclassmen coming up, it is just a battle between us.”
The teams were not sharp at the start of the game, combining for 36 (is this right?) turnovers in the first half resulting in Crestwood holding a slim 24-23 advantage at the break.
Henderson said that it was a battle of two defenses which thrive on full-court pressure but added that the Red Devils did a better job slowing the game down in the second quarter to maintain their lead.
Things began to spiral out of control in the third quarter for Crestwood as the Rovers’ ball pressure was unrelenting, forcing the Red Devils to commit nine more turnovers in the period. As Rootstown remained aggressive on defense, the Red Devils tried to speed things up offensively to disrupt Rootstown’s pressure but that is just how the Rovers wanted it.
“The ball pressure definitely made us speed up for sure,” Henderson said. “While in the first half we stayed calm and fought the pressure and moved the basketball with a pass, in the second half we dribbled against it and that’s what pressure does to you at times. It takes time to learn those things and in the long run it is a good game for us to get ready for the rest of the season.”
The Rovers won the third quarter by outscoring Crestwood by a 19-6 margin to take a 42-30 advantage into the fourth period.
Crestwood responded in the fourth period by engineering an 8-1 run, sparked by Ward and sophomore guard Piper Seibold each knocking down a three-point shot, trimming the Rovers’ lead to 43-38 midway through the period.
“It was just a matter of putting up a fight,” Ward said. “We just had to fight the whole game. It was great to see people coming off of the bench and helping us in big ways and it is something we have needed all year. We have the depth but we just need people to show up and actually play.”
Crestwood’s signs of life quickly evaporated as it reverted to struggling against the Rovers’ defense as Rootstown used a 6-2 run to assume control.
Despite forcing seven Rootstown turnovers in the final quarter, the Red Devils committed 11 turnovers in the final frame, halting their efforts at a comeback.
“We knew they were going to be physical,” Henderson said. “Part of that is their ball pressure and we preach the same things, pressuring the basketball and getting into people’s faces to speed things up but unfortunately Rootstown did a better a job at it.”
After returning to league play with a road game against CVC Valley Division foe Wickliffe on Wednesday night, Crestwood will welcome conference rival Berkshire to Mantua on Saturday at 12:15 p.m.
