NORTH ROBINSON — Loudonville coach Tyler Bates didn’t know how the Redbirds would respond to their first loss of the season, but Sophia Spangler put his mind at ease.
The Tiffin-bound Spangler scored 10 of her 14 points in the second quarter and the Redbirds cruised to a 56-30 win at Colonel Crawford on Wednesday.
Loudonville (16-1) suffered its first setback at Division III heavyweight Warrensville Heights last week. The Redbirds had eight days to stew on the 67-51 loss and Bates wasn’t sure what to expect Wednesday.
“I was a little nervous all week,” Bates said. “Everyone says its great to go play those games and I agree with them, but it’s great if you take something from those games.
“If you go and get beat up and don’t grow from it, it’s really not great.”
Colonel Crawford (16-2) raced to a 9-6 dcbd before Loudonville put together an 11-0 run bridging the first and second quarters. Spangler scored back-to-back buckets during the stretch.
“I think we learned a lot from the Warrensville Heights game. We needed to slow down and take better care of the basketball,” said Spangler, who added seven rebounds, three assists and four steals. “We’re a fast-paced team, but we turned the ball over a lot that night.
“It was a tough loss, but it taught us a lesson. We wanted to learn from it and get better.”
The Eagles cut Loudonville’s margin to 18-14 on freshman Robin Ehmann’s layup with 5:18 to play in the half, but the Redbirds closed the half on a 15-8 spree to take a 33-22 bulge to the break.
“We were OK when it was a half-court game,” Colonel Crawford coach Zac Bauer said. “When we turned it over they turned turnovers into layups. That is something they’re really good at.”
Loudonville opened the third period with a 6-0 spree as the gap ballooned to 39-22. Corri Vermilya assisted on Alesha Felix’s layup and connected on four free throws during the spurt.
An Ashland University recruit, Vermilya picked up her third and fourth fouls in short order in the third frame. She sat out the final two minutes of the third quarter and the first two minutes of the fourth before returning with about six minutes remaining.
“We really do rely on Corri. She’s awesome,” Spangler said. “Even when she was on the bench, she was helping us and encouraging us.”
The Eagles trailed 39-26 after three quarters and could never cut the deficit to single-digits in the fourth. Loudonville limited Colonel Crawford to eight second-half points.
“We felt like, in the first half, we did a nice job of making them take some tough shots but we weren’t finishing the possession with a rebound,” Bates said. “I think they took some of the same shots in the second half and we did a better job of rebounding.
“We’ve said all year we’re going to go on the road and we might not shoot the ball well … but we’re going to have to get stops. To win it defensively in the second half has me pretty happy as a coach.”
Vermilya led Loudonville with 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and five steals. Younger sister Mya added 12 points and three boards.
“I think last year if Corri scores 19 points in a game we’re probably not going to win, especially against a team like Crawford,” Bates said. “That’s the growth and balance that we’ve seen all year from our team that has us really excited.”
Mira Holt led Crawford with 10 points. Gabby Roston added six and Allison Weithman had five.
The game between north central Ohio small-school heavyweights wasn’t originally on the schedule.
It was added after the athletic directors at Loudonville, Colonel Crawford, Mansfield Christian and Monroeville worked a deal earlier this month.
The Redbirds were originally scheduled to play Mansfield Christian and Crawford was to play Monroeville. Mansfield Christian and Monroeville will play next week.
“I’m so grateful for Zac and everyone at Crawford and Monroeville and Mansfield Christian that helped us get this game on the schedule,” Bates said. “This was awesome. It was a packed house.
“It felt like a tournament game between two teams that have goals down the road. Any time that we can come play in an atmosphere like that, we’re going to take it.”