MASSILLON — With ice water in their veins, the Buckeye Central Buckettes march on in the post season regardless of the opponent.
The Buckettes trailed Dalton by seven points midway through the second quarter. But Buckeye Central scored nine straight points to take a two-point lead at halftime before cruising to a 48-32 win over the Bulldogs in the championship of the Division IV regional tournament at Perry High School.
The win puts the Buckettes back in the state Final Four for the first time since 2017-18. Buckeye Central (26-1) will meet Waterford (24-3) a 40-33 winner over Glouster Trimble in the Pickerington region. Tip is 2 p.m. at the University of Dayton Arena.
Both coaches cited the last four minutes of the second quarter as swinging the momentum.
“The second quarter was huge,” Buckeye Central coach Abram Kaple said. “We were down seven and we went on a 9-0 run. We kind of resurged there a little bit. We were playing a little timid. Finally, those (shots) kind of went (in), got the crowd back into it a little bit. Claudia Pifher) got to the free throw line and hits those two and we’re up two at the half.”
Pifher hit a 3-point shot prior to the free throws to tie the game at 18-18 during the nine-point rally. Her two free throws with 14 seconds left in second quarter gave the Buckettes a 20-18 advantage at intermission.
“We got up (18-11) and then we had some bad possessions and kind of let them back into it,” Dalton coach Katie Miller said. “Coming in at half, we kind of had them back on their heels. Then they made that little run that got them back in the game.”
From there, the Buckettes’ defense took over and allowed them to dominate the second half. BC limited the Bulldogs to four points in the third quarter as their lead ballooned to 33-22. Emily Siesel — who had been held to two points in the first half — scored five in the third period to lead the way.
Dalton (17-11) went scoreless for over five minutes to start the fourth quarter. Buckeye Central scored 11 points in that time, six coming on 3s by Kate Siesel on back-to-back possessions, to blow out to a 44-22 bulge.
“We hang our hats on defense — defense wins games in March,” Kaple said. “I think our defense down the stretch was legit.”
Emily Siesel led the Buckettes with a game-high 12 points. Ryley Kantzer, who had one of her best games both offensively and defensively, finished with 11, as did Pifher. Julia Evak grabbed eight rebounds.
“We gave up some offensive rebounds,” Miller said. “Some of those ball screens, we didn’t switch, and they got clear lane drives. You give Buckeye Central a wide-open look, they’re going to knock it down.
“They did a good job of hitting the open shooter,” Miller added. “(Kantzer) had one of her best nights. Hats off to them. They played well; they did things right. They definitely disrupted us on defense.”
Addesa Miller led the Bulldogs with 11 points. No other Dalton player had more than five. Miller also had nine rebounds.
“We kind of backed off the pressure full court,” Kaple said. “Addesa Miller — phenomenal, super-fast, an elite defender. We couldn’t keep her in front.”
Coach Miller only loses two players to graduation, Mia Weaver and Demareia Sampson, so the future is bright for the Bulldogs.
“Our kids, in mid-January, finally started clicking,” Miller said. “The kids did a good job. The did what we asked. I’m proud.”
“There’s very little drills you can do in terms of defense,” Kaple said of his team’s calling card. “It just comes down to effort, your basic fundamentals of your positioning, and understanding your scouting report.”
Box score
Dalton 11 7 4 10 — 32
Buckeye Central 11 9 13 15 — 48
Dalton (17-11): Shots 12-44; 3-pt. shots 6-20 (Addesa Miller 3, Kylee Johnson, Madeline West, Ella Lunsford); Free throws 2-2; Rebounds 24 (Addesa Miller 9); Turnovers 15. Scoring: Kylee Johnson 2 0 5, Addesa Miller 4 0 11, Madeline West 1 0 3, Ella Lunsford 2 0 5, Sarah Witmer 2 0 4, Mia Weaver 1 2 4.
Buckeye Central (26-1): Shots 17-36; 3-pt. shots 6-11 (Kate Siesel 2, Claudia Pifher, Kennedy Deppen, Ryley Kantzer, Sydney Wurm); Free throws 8-9; Rebounds 27 (Julia Evak 10); Turnovers 12. Scoring: Emily Siesel 4 4 12, Kate Siesel 2 0 6, Claudia Pifher 3 4 11, Julia Evak 1 0 2, Kennedy Deppen 1 0 3, Ryley Kantzer 5 0 11, Sydney Wurm 1 0 3.