TRI-COUNTY LEAGUE Kibby keys Rebels past Bears for 11th

The 6-foot-3 center powered Crestview to a 50-24 win over Leetonia.
By JOHN BUTERA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
LEETONIA -- Coming off its only league loss, the Crestview High girls basketball team bounced back in impressive fashion Tuesday, easily beating Leetonia, 50-24.
The Rebels rode the shoulders of 6-foot, 3-inch center Katie Kibby, who won the inside battle versus the Bears' leader, Jessica Deville.
Kibby had 16 points, three blocks and five rebounds.
Deville scored nine points and grabbed nine rebounds -- both season lows. Coming in, she averaged 17 points and 16 rebounds.
Crestview (11-2, 6-1) is still a half-game behind Columbiana (6-0) in the Tri-County League standings.
Leetonia (8-5, 5-2) scored 21 points less than its average and gave up 10 more.
"We had a goal coming in," Kibby said.
"And that was to hold [Deville] to 12 points or less. Fortunately, we were able to accomplish that."
Bottom falls out
Leading 10-9 after one quarter, the Bears saw the bottom fall out in the second session as they missed their first eight shots and didn't score until Deville found the range with 40 seconds left.
Crestview got a spark right into the quarter as Caitlin Crowl twice converted turnovers into baskets as the Rebels grabbed the lead for good, 13-10, at 7:23.
Then Kibby took charge. She converted a second chance score at one end then blocked a shot at the other. In all, Crestview ran off 12 straight points en route to a 21-12 edge.
"They came out in a one-one-three zone to start that second quarter," Bears coach Jerry Beltempo said. "And they challenged us to move the ball and we didn't move it."
Single-handed spurt
Kibby started the third period on fire again, single-handedly outscoring the Bears 8-1 as the Rebels pulled out 29-12 in 2:43.
The last of the Kibby points came off a nifty pass from Elyse Mongillo, whose 12-point output included the game's only two 3-pointers.
"We had to get out to a good start in that second half," Beltempo said. "And we weren't able to do that. Our kids just got frustrated and lost complete focus after that first half."