Storm girls roll in MAC opener

CHAPPELL – By being awarded a third seed in the 2015 MAC Tournament, the Creek Valley High girls' basketball team just may have the rest of the conference teams right where it wants them.

Powered by a first-quarter offensive explosion, the Storm found little trouble on their way to a first-round victory over sixth-seeded South Platte with a 58-34 win at the Thunder Dome on Monday night.

Last season, the top-seeded Storm were defeated by eventual champion Leyton in the semifinals. As the third seed in 2013, the Storm took the crown by upending Leyton in the finals.

That rivalry will be renewed in the 2015 semis with Creek Valley set to meet the No. 2 Warriors at Sidney Middle School at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. The Warriors punched their ticket to the semifinals with a 42-32 win over No. 7 Banner County.

"We certainly hope it will be like two years ago," said Storm senior Hannah Schievelbein. "I think we're all pretty confident we can beat anybody so long as we don't underestimate any of our opponents. Leyton is a good team too and they'll play as hard as we will."

As for the opener, the Storm powered its way to a 24-10 first-quarter lead with a big boost coming from their dominant play on the boards. Creek Valley outrebounded South Platte 48-26 in the contest and smothered its guests with a full-court press.

After the Knights' Kenzie Hixon sank a foul shot to open the scoring, the Storm answered back with 11 straight. Creek Valley's first three buckets came via the put-back layup. Stefanie Mitchell stepped up first followed by Schievelbein and Allie Blackwelder. Jessie Straber finished the run by completing a three-point play. She then converted on a feed from Jill Behrends while parked on the doorstep.

"I think it was the first time in a while the whole team was so psyched right before a game," Mitchell said. "That excitement just poured onto the court and our shots started dropping."

Payje Misegadis signaled the opening of the second eight minutes by draining a three pointer for a 27-10 lead. But the second period was not the cakewalk the first was. Abbie Schneider and Shelby Richards answered Misegadis's opening salvo with one each of their own. By the end of the first half, the Knights had managed to whittle the deficit down to 10 at 34-24.

"You play teams in this position and they feel they have nothing to lose so they give you everything they have," said Storm head coach Bill Wilber. "I think maybe we helped them some too by relaxing a little after that big start."

The Storm defense kicked back into gear over the final 16 minutes, allowing just five points in each of the final two quarters. Meanwhile, Creek Valley kept up the offensive pressure with a nine-point advantage in the third frame with five more points added to its lead in the fourth.

"We really seemed to pass the ball well tonight," Straber said. "Maybe being the three seed is our lucky number. I think we all feel comfortable with where we are."

Straber led a balanced scoring attack for the Storm with 11 points. Misegadis, Mitchell and Allie Blackwelder each added eight while Hannah Blackwelder and Schievelbein dropped in six apiece.

The domination on the boards was led by Schievelbein and Mitchell with 11 and 10 rebounds respectively. Allie Blackwelder (8) and Misegadis (5) were the theft leaders, while Joey Straber was tops on the squad with four assists.