MASSILLON — Emily Siesel’s trademark is defense.
The Buckeye Central senior guard put that on full display Thursday night in the Division IV regional semifinal win over Springfield Local. She added a little bit of offense too.
The final was 61-28 and the outcome was never really in doubt. Siesel’s play in the first quarter helped ensure that as she scored 9 of her team-high 19 points (right at her average) and the Buckettes raced out to a 14-8 advantage.
“My favorite thing to do is play defense. So that aggressiveness on defense helps translate to easy offense, which is a benefit to me and the rest of the team. It really gets us going,” Siesel said.
She also dished out 4 assists, had 3 steals and grabbed 4 rebounds.
“We pride ourselves in that defensive pressure and that really helped translate into that easy offense at the end of the half,” Siesel said.
The Buckettes swelled the lead by scoring 13 points in the last 1:40 of the first half for a 33-13 halftime lead.
“On any given night any of us is bound to go off. So, I guess we all kind of play good defense and play together. We really were able to take advantage of them with our pressure. We got up and did that, and we turned them over.”
Siesel’s play helped limit the Tigers’ Madison Lesnak to a single field goal.
She admits she and her teammates played with composure. BC forced 18 Springfield turnovers while committing just 2.
“We know what the end goal is and it’s exciting. At the end of the day, it’s just another step. At halftime coach (Abram) Kaple reminded us of what happened last year with a decent lead at halftime. So, we used that as motivation, us older ones, and kept playing our game and didn’t fall back into that trap.”
Kaple gave a big nod to Siesel for her efforts.
“Emily hangs her hat specifically on the defensive end. Ever since she came last year, she has kind of rebuilt our identity from a defensive standpoint,” he said.
“She had just two rips for wide-open lay-ups in the first half which takes the wind out of the other teams’ sails. It really does. It’s just demoralizing. She does that time after time, and she does a really good job of it by not fouling while she’s doing it.”
Siesel became the school’s seventh 1,000-point scorer in the second half. She took the milestone in stride.
“I’ve never really had the best luck with injuries. So for my senior year to come out and be healthy for it all; it’s special and it’s awesome to do that in our regional game,” she said. “The goal is to get the win and take the next step toward the end goal.”
Kaple called that achievement unbelievable. “She missed an entire year and the first game last year. She’s a stud; a great two-way player.”
Siesel sprained her ankle during her freshman season, which never healed and eventually required surgery, and she missed her entire sophomore year.
Now healthy, Siesel and her teammates play Dalton for a regional championship at 7 p.m. Saturday at the same venue, Massillon Perry High School.