BUCYRUS — Streaks come and go. But the long losing streaks can become albatrosses on a team’s neck.
The Bucyrus Lady Redmen were amid just such a run since their last league win — until Friday night.
The streak is dead.
The Redmen broke open a close game at halftime with an 18-point third quarter in pulling away from Seneca East, 43-27, in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference game at Alex Kish Memorial Gymnasium.
“First league win in 40 games. We’ll take it,” Bucyrus coach Brian Seybert understated. “We’ll see if we can carry this on into the next game.”
The last win for Bucyrus (4-7, 1-6) in the N10 was a 50-42 win on Jan. 24, 2020 at Mohawk.
But all that was forgotten as the Redmen basked in the glow of victory.
After a slow start, which saw Bucyrus run out to an 11-3 lead, Seneca East (1-10, 0-7 N10) got back into the game with a solid second quarter.
Tigers coach George Parks credited his girls with being able to deal with Bucyrus’ press that led to seven first-quarter turnovers.
“We made adjustments, got a couple of layups off it, and got them out of it for a while,” Parks said of the Redmen press. “It got us a run and got us back in the game. I think we were down 8-1 at the start.”
The Tigers went on a 10-3 run in the third quarter to turn the 11-3 deficit into a 15-13 lead — their only one of the game. The run was capped on a basket by Alexa Snay.
Bucyrus was able to take the lead into the locker room at halftime when Addison Kemery canned a 3-pointer to retake the lead at 16-15.
“The first quarter, we came out with great energy, put our foot on the gas pedal, and got a good lead,” Seybert said. “Then they came back and hit some open 3s to get them back in the game in the second quarter.”
The Tigers couldn’t stand the prosperity, though, as their cold shooting returned and the Redmen took advantage.
Seneca East scored just one point in the first six-and-a-half minutes of the third quarter and converted their only field goal of the period when Izzy Stockmaster finished a 3-point play with 1:23 to go. The Tigers were on for 15 in the frame and hit just three field goals in the second half.
“We came out in the third quarter and we weren’t ready to play,” Parks said. “(Bucyrus) hit some shots and we had some missed assignments. We weren’t mentally ready to go. They took advantage of it.”
Brook Dennison hit all seven of her points in the third period and Maddie Kimmel had seven of her nine to help the Redmen to a 34-19 cushion.
From there, the Redmen closed it out from the line, hitting seven of 11 free throws in the final eight minutes.
“In the second half, they did what I asked them to do in my halftime speech,” Seybert said. “We came out with intensity and a little more aggression and played the way we know we can play.”
Kemery led all scorers with 17 points and had six rebounds. Kimmel also had six boards. Marissa Middleton had eight points.
Seneca East got nine points from Stockmaster and seven from Snay. The Tigers held a big advantage on the glass, 50-32. Snay grabbed 13 to lead the way.
“We did a great job (on the boards),” Parks said. “I’m pleased with our rebounding tonight. You come out in a close game like this and not move your feet on defense, it’s going to catch up with you.”
“I’m proud of Addison Kemery for her performance,” Seybert said. “She’s been working on her shot. She’s not happy with the way things turned the last few games, but tonight she was on. The girls found her with the drive and kick and moved the ball around. She was there and she knocked them down.”
“We’ve been struggling with our shot,” Parks said. “If we put the ball in the hoop, it’s probably a different game.
“It’s not for lack of effort,” he added. “We work hard. We just have to get a little confidence. When that comes, we hit a couple shots, we’re going to be good.”
“We took better shots tonight,” Seybert said. “We started making free throws in the second half, finally, and the four 3s were big for us at the time we hit them.”
Seneca East won the junior varsity game, 38-8.
Box score
Seneca East 3 12 4 8 — 27
Bucyrus 11 5 18 9 — 43
Seneca East (1-10, 0-7 N10): Shots 9-51; 3-pt. shots 2-12 (Sayge Miller, Cami Lantz); Free throws 7-13; Rebounds 50 (Alexa Snay 13); Turnovers 19. Scoring: Sayge Miller 1 0 3, Cami Lantz 1 0 3, Leah Drown 0 1 1, Alexa Snay 3 1 7, Izzy Stockmaster 3 3 9, Livy Kaiser 0 1 1, Caroline Kagy 1 0 2, Meghan 0 1 1.
Bucyrus (4-7, 1-6 N10): Shots 13-43; 3-pt. shots 4-15 (Addison Kemery 2, Maddie Kimmel, Brook Dennison); Free throws 13-24; Rebounds 32 (Maddie Kimmel 6, Addison Kemery 6); Turnovers 9. Scoring: Maddie Kimmel 3 2 9, Brook Dennison 3 0 7, Ady Rister 1 0 2, Addison Kemery 5 5 17, Marissa Middleton 1 6 8.
JV: Seneca East 38-8.