NEW WASHINGTON — The Buckeye Central Buckettes are 2-0 on the season and have won both games by at least 14 points.
But BC coach Abram Kaple said that his team has only scratched the surface of how good they can be and have a good deal of improvement yet to show.
The Buckettes got 16 second-chance points in the first half and held a 15-4 lead after one period. Wynford found its footing in the second half but could never cut into the BC lead below nine as the Buckettes beat the Royals, 49-35, Friday night.
Kaple said his team’s defense was a strength in the first half and its ability to rebound on the offensive glass was the difference. However, he felt that his team struggled with the Royals in the final two frames.
“We did some things in the first half, we got up and pressured more and created some turnovers and that led to some easy baskets in the first half,” Kaple said. “But I felt that we got tired and didn’t have that same energy in the second half.
“Too many offensive rebounds to Averi McMillan and too many second-chance points for them,” Kaple added. “We did some good things in the first half but there is definitely room for improvement on the defensive end.”
Wynford coach Amy Taylor-Sheldon, who is entering her 25th season with the Royals, felt that offensive opportunities on the glass hurt her team in the first half.
“They killed us on the boards in the first half,” Taylor-Sheldon said. “The advantage always goes to the aggressor. We had more fouls but, somehow, they were still more the aggressor. That set the pace for the entire game.
“In the second half, they only had four points on second chances,” she added. “For us, you have to put two halves together. But it’s only our second game of the season. We have a lot of improving to do. We have to get mentally and physically a little tougher to compete.”
The Buckettes got 3-point shots from Taylor Ratliff, Ryley Kantzer and Kyleigh Brown to bolt to an 11-point lead after one frame.
Wynford got seven points from post McMillan in the second period, but the Buckettes got three more 3-point buckets in the frame to take a 26-14 lead into halftime.
“We kinda laid down the challenge at halftime and said ‘what are we going to do about this? Can we show that we are more aggressive in a way that we can control the game?’” Taylor-Sheldon said. “I thought we did a better job there defensively. I just think we have to do a better job taking care of the ball and get the shots we want instead of them dictating the shots. We have experience but we still have a long way to go in improvement.”
Kaple felt that his team may have gotten a little complacent in the second half.
“I don’t know if we got complacent with an 11-point lead,” Kaple said. “It stayed pretty much double-digits for the entire game, but we have to do a better job of getting that early lead and then capitalizing in the second half.
“We have to mentally develop that killer instinct to finish games early and not let teams hang around,” he added. “And that’s my fault. That needs to be taken care of in practice.”
The Royals did a much better job on the glass in the final two periods, outrebounding BC, 15-13, and limiting the Buckettes to just four second-chance points.
“I thought we turned around in the second half and did a better job of some of the things we failed at in the first half,” Taylor-Sheldon said.
“We missed our free throws; we missed our uncontested 3s. When you’re playing good teams, those are shots you have to make. Hopefully, we’ll have more chances to do those things as the season progresses.”
McMillan paced the Royals with 13 points and post running mate Lyndie Williams scored seven of her 11 points in the second half.
BC showed outstanding balance in the game. Claudia Pifher led the way with 10 points and Kendra Ackerman, Ratliff and Kantzer each added nine. Eight BC players scored in the game.
“We had good balance and down the road that’s going to make us extremely difficult to guard,” Kaple said. “For our guards to make shots and space the floor, that will continue to open things up and make other team’s scouting report difficult, but I still thought we have had some uncharacteristic turnovers.
“We have to do a better job of playing a little more clean,” he added. “We have some players who are battle-tested, and I think we can do a little better job of not making excuses for ourselves.”
Buckeye Central won the junior varsity game, 36-33. Emily Siesel paced the Buckettes with 12 points. Alexis Stevely led Wynford with 13 points and Maddie Coffman scored 10.
Box score
Wynford 4 10 14 7 — 35
Buckeye Central 15 11 17 6 — 49
Wynford (1-1, 1-1 N10): Shots 14-42; 3-pt. 4-16 (Kaylee Smith 2, Averi McMillan, Lyndie Williams); Rebounds 28; Turnovers 12. Scoring: Kaylee Smith 2 0 6, Averi McMillan 4 2 13, Grace Stucky 0 1 1, Lyndie Williams 5 0 11, Katie Wagner 2 0 4.
Buckeye Central (2-0, 2-0 N10): Shots 18-45; 3-pt. shots 9-24 (Taylor Ratliff 3, Kendra Ackerman 3, Kate Siesel, Ryley Kantzer, Kyleigh Brown); Free throws 4-8; Rebounds 33 (Claudia Pifher 10); Turnovers 15. Scoring: Kendra Ackerman 3 0 9, Claudia Pifher 4 2 10, Julia Evak 1 0 2, Emily Siesel 1 0 2, Taylor Ratliff 3 0 9, Kate Siesel 1 0 3, Ryley Kantzer 3 2 9, Kyleigh Brown 2 0 5.
JV: Buckeye Central 36-33.