Staff photo / Dan Hiner Crestview’s Addison Rhodes (3) is fouled by Brookfield’s MaRae Craig, back, while driving to the basket during the second quarter of Monday’s game at Brookfield High School.

BROOKFIELD – The Brookfield girls basketball team didn’t have any answers for Ava Bucey and Addison Rhodes on Monday night.

The veteran duo powered Crestview to an 83-37, thanks to a dominant first half at Brookfield High School.

Rhodes scored 16 of her game-high 39 points in the first quarter, and Bucey added 14 of her 18 points in the period as well.

“That’s what you love to see from your seniors, going on the road and kinda setting the tone from the start,” Crestview head coach Aaron Blatch said. “They were fantastic all night, but especially in that first quarter.”

The Rebels (13-1, 8-0 Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Grey Tier) were in complete control from the opening tip. They knocked down shots, forced turnovers on defense and passed well.

That combination gave them a 30-6 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Brookfield (3-9, 2-6 MVAC Grey) started to get something going offensively, specifically from beyond the 3-point arc and the foul line. But the Rebels kept pace on the scoreboard and took a 55-24 lead into halftime.

The Warriors scored five of the first seven points of the second half. But Crestview went on a 9-2 run, and an and-one by Bucey made it a 66-31 lead and a running clock with just over two minutes left in the third.

MaRae Craig led the Warriors with nine points. Mariah Norris finished with eight points, and Ava Winters ended the night with seven.

Brookfield was coming off back-to-back wins over Champion and Liberty. And despite the loss, Warriors head coach John Hiner thought the girls gained a little bit of confidence after putting up a fight against an MVAC powerhouse like Crestview.

“The girls kinda saw that tonight,” Hiner said. “You can see it on their faces, that we were able to kinda hang around with them a little more than I think even they expected.”

After dropping a 55-42 meeting to Laurel on Dec. 30 – Crestview’s only blemish so far this season -the Rebels have started another winning streak. After Monday, they have won four straight games, including wins over MVAC foes Liberty, Southeast and now Brookfield.

With the Rebels continuing to roll through the conference, Blatch isn’t concerned with his offense. But he wants to see some improvement on the defensive end.

“We got a lot of people that can really score,” Blatch said. “I think we show flashes of being a really good defensive team – we also have some breakdowns here and there – so I think stepping up and taking the change every night defensively is something that we can keep building.”