HOLMES TOWNSHIP — Shooting accuracy has been an issue for the Bucyrus Lady Red in recent games.
Tuesday at Colonel Crawford, Bucyrus was 10 of 43 from the field. Friday was nearly a carbon copy as the Redmen hit just 10 of 42.
Wynford took full advantage with its defense — which was partly responsible for the poor shooting — and the offense was hot at the start.
The combination resulted in a 17-4 first quarter lead for the Royals, one that they never relinquished, en route to a 46-31 Northern 10 Athletic Conference win at Michael A. Johnson Gymnasium.
“Overall, we shot 25 percent from twos and barely over 10 percent (two for 17) from 3,” Bucyrus coach Brian Seybert said. “And when we’re not hitting anything outside, we have to drive. If that is working, we get fouls and we got a couple of (Wynford players) in foul trouble in the first half.
“It’s been our Achilles’ heel our last three games — all three league games,” Seybert added. “We’re just not making shots. The other team’s making them, we’re not. If we make half of those (misses), it’s a close game and we have an opportunity.”
Wynford coach Amy Taylor-Sheldon was happy that her team got off to a good start.
“We came out hot offensively,” Taylor-Sheldon said. “We’re too streaky on offense and defense. But this is only game five for us. So, hopefully, we can improve each game to be more consistent.”
Reese McGuire drilled a pair of 3-point shots on her way to eight points in the first quarter and Kenna Caldwell added a 3. Defensively, Wynford (2-3, 1-2 N10) held Bucyrus (3-3, 0-3) to 0-of 8 from the field. All four Redmen points were from the free throw line.
The Royals’ defense was effective at keeping Bucyrus shooters at bay.
“They played some solid ‘D’,” Seybert said. “They got up into us a little more than I expected. They know our shooter (Brook Dennison) and they took her away. But we made some adjustments and got help from girls that hadn’t been helping us (offensively). And that’s going to help us down the road.”
“We had hoped to knock them off rhythm a little bit and try to mix a few things up, maybe overplay a little bit, and have a better hard switch,” Taylor-Sheldon said.
Wynford was able to stay the course defensively despite playing with a short bench and early foul trouble. Both Katie Wagner and Maradath Engler picked up three fouls in the first half.
“Bri Westrick — this is the first game she’s played in,” Taylor-Sheldon said. “She came off the bench and had some good minutes for us, played hard.”
The Redmen never took full advantage of the foul situation in the first half, thought they shot 12 free throws, but made only six and two field goals in the frame. The Royals kept the double-digit lead, 27-11, at halftime.
In the third quarter, Bucyrus came off the mat to cut the deficit. The offense showed a spark, hitting six of 14 shots to pull within 33-25 after three. Maddie Kimmel scored seven of her team-high 11 points to lead the charge.
“The third quarter, we came out with great intensity, making some shots and cut it to eight and gave ourselves a chance,” Seybert said. “And then, what we were doing in the third quarter, we weren’t doing in the fourth quarter.”
In the fourth quarter, Grace Stucky registered six of her 15 points and the defense went back to lockdown, allowing the Royals to hold off the Redmen rally.
“I think we had some streaks where we were just careless and got in foul trouble and yet we were still scoring,” Taylor-Sheldon said. “But then they’re at the foul line numerous times. It’s just a place where we need to be a little more disciplined.”
The veteran coach credited a Stucky’s versatility with carrying the offense through the rough patches.
“”I think she’s capable of averaging (15 points) every game,” Taylor-Sheldon said. “She has been the point guard the last three years. But with the great addition of Maradath Engler and us losing Paige Smith and Avery McMillan — in my mind, she’s a great athlete, very coachable and can do a lot of different things.”
McGuire had 10 points in support of Stucky’s 15. Caldwell and Stucky had nine rebounds each.
Kimmel was the only Bucyrus player in double figures with her 11 points. Dennison, the leagues’ second-leading scorer to start the week, was held to six. Kimmel also grabbed six rebounds.
“It’s not the start we wanted,” Seybert said. “I told them we had to come out and we had to start fast. We didn’t. We got down like that and we had to fight to come back.
“The heart was there,” Seybert added. “The girls gave 100 percent effort from the second quarter on. They’re going to come our way. Eventually the shots are going to fall. Hopefully, we’ll get some wins coming our way.”
“You know, you have to look for your first N10 win, your first league win,” Taylor-Sheldon said. “We missed out on that opportunity Tuesday. We’ve happy to have that first win in the league.”
Box score
Bucyrus 4 7 14 6 — 31
Wynford 17 10 6 13 — 46
Bucyrus (3-3, 0-3 N10): Shots 10-42; 3-pt. shots 2-17 (Brook Dennison, Addison Kemery); Free throws 9-18; Rebounds 31 (Maddie Kimmel 6); Turnovers 12. Scoring: Addison Ricker 3 0 6, Maddie Kimmel 4 3 11, Kendra Blizzard 0 1 1, Brook Dennison 1 3 6, Ady Rister 0 1 1, Addison Kemery 2 0 5, Marissa Middleton 0 1 1.
Wynford (2-3, 1-2 N10): Shots 18-51; 3-pt. shots 5-15 (Reese McGuire 2, Zoe Whitmeyer, Kenna Caldwell); Free throws 5-10; Rebounds 36 (Kenna Caldwell 9, Grace Stucky 9); Turnovers 11. Scoring: Zoe Whitmeyer 1 0 3, Maradath Engler 2 0 5, Reese McGuire 4 0 10, Kenna Caldwell 3 1 8, Grace Stucky 6 3 15, Katie Wagner 2 1 5.