Gallery: Ocala Christian Academy Defeats Cedar Key

Ocala Christian Academy sophomore Brianna McQuaig scored a game-high 19 points and junior Charlotte Culver added 18 to lead the Crusaders to a 69-42 win over Cedar Key on Monday night.

The loss evened Class 1A Cedar Key’s record at 4-4 on the season, while the convincing victory improved Ocala Christian, which placed four players in double figures, to 6-4 overall.

“We have been working on a lot of things in practice and it showed tonight,” said first-year Crusaders coach Betsy Carpenter. “We played amazing and I loved how we shared the ball and so many different girls scored. Our goal this year is to win more games than we did last year and we’ve already done that.”

Both teams started the game slowly before McQuaig scored four points and Culver added four points on a pair of drives to the basket to give the Crusaders a 10-7 lead heading to the second period.

Cedar Key’s Raechel Brinkman scored four of her 16 points and Megan McCain added a bucket to keep the Sharks within striking distance midway through the second quarter.

Ocala Christian answered with a run sparked by Alexa Botticello, who scored four of her 14 points and McQuaig, who poured in six points, including a baseline jumper, to give the Crusaders a 34-15 lead at the half.

“We executed what we ran in practice and succeeded with it,” said coach Carpenter, who graduated from Ocala Christian in 2012.

Cedar Key tried to cut into its deficit as McCain drained a pair of jump shots as part of an 18-point effort and Brinkman scored four points, including a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

Ocala Christian stayed focused and slowly pulled away as Alexa Botticello scored four points and Isabella Botticello added a putback as part of a 10-point night, to give the Crusaders a 50-27 lead heading to the final eight minutes.

The teams traded baskets in the final stanza as McCain scored eight points and Brinkman added five for the Sharks, while Culver had six points and McQuaig contributed seven for the victorious Crusaders.

Ocala Christian is back on the hardwood on Tuesday night with a road game at Hope Christian.