SYCAMORE — This was a basketball game that was essentially over five minutes into the game.
Buckeye Central dropped six of its 12 three-point shots in that first five minutes and guard Kate Siesel tied the school record with seven 3s and 25 points as the Buckettes held a 19-2 lead with 2:50 left in the first period.
Siesel’s seven 3s matched teammate Sydney Wurm’s school record that was set earlier in the season.
As a result, the Warriors never got closer than 15 points the rest of the way in a 49-26 BC victory.
With the win, the Buckettes remained in first place in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference at 8-1, one game better than Upper Sandusky’s 7-2. BC is 13-2 overall. Mohawk fell to 5-4 in the conference, 11-4 overall.
“It all just kind of clicked today,” Siesel said. “We had a good team effort. We had good passes and just got some good looks.
“Mohawk was a closer game last time and we knew we just wanted to get out and beat them,” she added.
The Buckettes made six of seven 3-point attempts in the first period, including three from Siesel. Ryley Kantzer dropped one from long range, along with Wurm and Kennedy Deppen as BC grabbed its 17-point lead. The Buckettes held a 21-6 lead after one.
“We’ve been seeing a lot of man defense, a lot of pressure with our shooters to take away stuff,” BC coach Abram Kaple said. “So, it was nice to see some zone. We had good patience in the first half. We made the right pass, we made the extra pass, and we have kids that can make shots.
“It was a total team effort for us to be kind of delayed offensively and find the open shooters,” Kaple added. “And Kate and Syd and Ryley were able to connect. Kennedy had one, too.”
Mohawk coach Bruce Hannam said that, once the Buckettes got hot, it was tough to stay with them.
“They were red-hot from the outside and they’re going to be a tough team for anyone to beat,” Hannam said. “We thought we were ready for that.
“One of the things we talked about before the game was they’ve earned a spot,” Hannam added. “Our team has earned a spot to play in a big game like this today, being 11-3. But it’s a rude awakening when you look up at the scoreboard after four or five minutes and they’re four of five from three and just steamrolling it. It was a freight train going down the road and we just couldn’t do anything to stop it.”
Both teams scored just two points in the second period, BC getting a bucket from Ella Evak and Mohawk getting a follow from post Emily Klopp. Still, the Buckettes held a 23-8 lead at the break.
Kaple said that his team wanted to prepare to stop Mohawk’s 6-foot-3 post Klopp. Klopp scored 14 points in the game.
Hannam said that the game plan was to get the ball into his senior post.
“We committed to trying to at least get looks to her,” Hannam said. “Sadly enough, here we are, my third year coaching this team. We struggle and we get pressure to be able to see the whole court and even though they’re only eight feet or ten feet away, we struggle doing that.”
“We did a good job of trying to understand that they were going to push the ball inside, so we wanted Kennedy to front, with her length and we wanted good backside help,” Kaple said. “Paige (Collene) was phenomenal. What we talk about, when teams are outsizing us, we have to be able to pressure the guards and make those post entry passes tougher.
“We’re a little bit of Jekyll and Hyde,” Kaple added. “Obviously, when we shoot well, things look better because we’re more energized defensively. We just need to continue to have that same effort even if the shots aren’t falling.”
The Buckettes opened the third period with a pair of 3s from Siesel and Wurm to take a 37-14 lead into the final period.
“It was good to see the ball go in the hole a little bit, this is our first time over 40, well, it feels like a month,” Kaple said. “But we’ve been finding other ways to win. As long as they’re going into the left-hand column, I don’t care how we do it.”
Wurm backed Siesel for the Buckettes with nine points.
“Kudos to them, they’re a solid team,” Hannam said. “They have solid ball-handling. We couldn’t buy a decision in the first half, let alone a good shot. They’re smart, they’re well-coached and they kicked our (butt) today.”
Siesel said that the Buckettes can build on a win such as this.
“We need to take this win and just keep moving forward,” Siesel said. “It was a good win for us, so we just need to keep moving forward.”
Buckeye Central 21 2 14 12 — 49
Mohawk 6 2 6 12 — 26
Buckeye Central (13-2, 8-1 N10): Shots 17-38; 3-pt. 12-24 (Kate Siesel 7, Sydney Wurm 3, Kennedy Deppen, Ryley Kantzer); Free throws 3-4; Rebounds 18 (Kate Siesel 10); Turnovers 5. Scoring: Kate Siesel 9 0 25, Sydney Wurm 3 0 9, Kennedy Deppen 2 1 6, Ella Evak 1 0 2, Ryley Kantzer 2 0 5, Paige Collene 0 2 2.
Mohawk (11-4, 5-4 N10): Shots 11-35; 3-pt. shots 2 (); Free throws 2-10; Rebounds 39; Turnovers 20. Scoring: Gracie Clouse 2 0 6, Brooklen Helton 1 0 2, Emily Klopp 7 0 14, Mia Miller 1 0 2, Joleigh Hamilton 0 2 2.
JV: Buckeye Central 40-32.