WILLARD — It was business as usual for Buckeye Central in the Division IV district final at Willard High School.
To the surprise of few, the Buckettes won — again.
Buckeye Central jumped out to a 17-9 first-quarter lead and never trailed in defeating Seneca East, 46-33, to secure a fifth straight district championship, tying the school record.
“To tie the record — I think we had five straight in the late 80s, early 90s,” Buckeye Central coach Abram Kaple said. “These kids work so hard year-round. I told them in the locker room, this game was won in the offseason. Now, we just go out and display it.”
The Buckettes’ defense proved to be the difference. Though undersized, Buckeye Central virtually matched the taller Tigers on the glass and were able to get to the rim despite Seneca East’s length.
“I guess I was more impressed with them defensively this evening just because it was typically ours on the boards and we knew that was going to be a challenge (from them),” Seneca East coach Don Vogt said. “We knew they were going to come out and check out hard and focus on the glass and inside. Hats off to them, they did a great job.”
The Buckettes did a particularly good job defensively on Tigers’ start Jessica Bowerman who was held to eight points on the night, which impressed the coach.
“We gave up 33 points and probably six of them came in the last 1:30 just being careless with the ball,” Kaple said. “And for a team that averages almost 60, hats off to all seven of our girls who played in this game. To hold the District 6 Co-Player of the Year to single digits is phenomenal.”
Buckeye Central (23-2) expanded its lead to 25-16 by halftime and Seneca East (19-6) never got closer than seven in the second half. Emily Siesel, formerly of Seneca East, scored 10 of her game-high 18 points in the third quarter to push the lead to 39-25 after three.
The Tigers struggled to score from the perimeter — hitting just one of 12 shots from beyond the arc — which made the Buckeye Central defense even more effective.
“Our outside shooting is inconsistent and has been all year,” Vogt said. “So that was the story of us. Sometimes our shots were somewhat rushed and that kind of throws some stuff off. That was one of our Achilles’ heels.
“I am proud of our shooters, actually, because from the 3-point line I think we started out at 17 percent as a team. By the end, we got it up to 32 percent and that was because of the grind of daily shooting and trying to improve,” Vogt added. “They made strides; it didn’t show this evening.”
Claudia Pifher seconded Siesel with 11 points for the Buckettes and grabbed eight rebounds among the bigger Tigers. Ryley Kantzer had seven boards.
“Claudia was phenomenal on the defensive end,” Kaple said. “Typically, she’s known for the 20 points a game she averages. What she did in the offseason to get herself in shape and be a two-way player — I’m super proud of her.”
Bowerman’s eight points led Seneca East and Brooke Bordner added seven. Alexis Hicks had eight rebounds.
Bowerman, Hicks, and Hannah Rowe played their last game in a Seneca East uniform. Vogt’s lengthy stay in the post-game locker room spoke volumes to his admiration of his seniors.
“We talked about the game a little bit and then we celebrated the careers of the three seniors,” Vogt said.
While extolling the virtues of all three, he praised Bowerman especially.
“Jessica Bowerman speaks for herself,” Vogt said. “She’s a one-of-a-kind kid, one-of-a-kind student athlete. She’s such a good role model for everybody, always 110 percent, never anything less.”
“We have really high I.Q. players,” Kaple said. “Taylor (Ratliff), Claudia and Emily play basketball the year round and it shows. Seneca East did a good job of switching up defenses. You saw man, you saw 2-3 (zone). We did a good job of recognizing some things and making the extra pass.”
The Buckettes will go to the Elida regional this year after having been in the Northeast region at Massillon Perry. Buckeye Central faces Columbus Grove at 8 p.m. on Thursday.
“I sat there (in the locker room) quietly for a little while, not because I didn’t have anything to say, but because I didn’t want it to end,” Vogt said. “I just enjoy being in their company on a daily basis and to know we don’t have practice on Monday is killing me.”
Box score
Buckeye Central 17 8 14 7 — 46
Seneca East 9 7 9 8 — 33
Buckeye Central (23-2): Shots 17-40; 3-pt. shots 4-17 (Emily Siesel 2, Claudia Pifher, Taylor Ratliff); Free throws 8-12; Rebounds 32 (Claudia Pifher 8); Turnovers 16. Scoring: Kendra Ackerman 2 0 4, Claudia Pifher 3 2 11, Julia Evak 1 0 2, Emily Siesel 6 4 18, Taylor Ratliff 1 0 3, Rylee Kantzer 0 2 2, Kyleigh Brown 3 0 6.
Seneca East (19-6): Shots 14-54; 3-pt. shots 1-12 (Brooke Bordner); Free throws 4-7; Rebounds 34 (Alexis Hicks 8); Turnovers 15. Scoring: Jessica Bowerman 3 2 8, Brooke Bordner 3 0 7, Makenna Depinet 2 2 6, Kiersten Cook 2 0 4, Amelia Boes 2 0 4, Alexis Hicks 2 0 4.