BUCYRUS — New Bucyrus girls’ basketball coach Brittanie Ulmer didn’t get the result she hoped for in her inaugural game as the Lady Redmen mentor.
But her optimism and enthusiasm were not dampened.
Bucyrus fell behind by 12 points after one period but the young Redmen played on fairly even terms for the remaining three quarters, falling to visiting Northmor, 56-41, in a non-league contest at Alex Kish Memorial Gymnasium.
“The biggest thing with us was our lull in the first quarter,” Ulmer said. “We came out, and, number one, it was the first game of the season. We were nervous. We dug ourselves a hole.”
Symptomatic of the slow start for Bucyrus (0-1) was cold shooting. The Redmen hit just four of 14 shots in the opening frame and they committed five turnovers.
Northmor (1-2) on the other hand connected on nine of 19 attempts to build a 21-9 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Golden Knights coach Fred Beachy was pleased with his team’s quick start.
“We have no seniors,” Beachy said. “But when we do things right, we can win.”
Golden Knights junior Lexi Wenger is a rather good alternative to having no seniors. Wenger led all scorers with 30 points — nine in the pivotal first quarter — to hold the young Redmen at bay.
The Redmen didn’t go away easily though. Bucyrus outscored the visitors 10-6 in the second quarter to shrink the deficit to 27-19 at halftime.
“Box outs killed us. They had 12 (offensive) boards,” Ulmer said. “If we change it from the first quarter — I’d say the first three minutes — it’s a different game. Our confidence is there going into the second half.”
“That team is really aggressive,” Beachy said of Bucyrus. “They could have folded after the first quarter. I told (our team), ‘They’re going to come back.’ And they did. We scored six points in the second quarter.”
A quick start to the second half by Northmor prevented any possibility of a Redmen rally. Wenger scored the first six points on a pair of three-point plays to push the Knights’ lead to 33-19 and Bucyrus never got closer than 10 from there.
“We went seven of 16 from the free throw line,” Ulmer said. “If we make 70 percent of those, it’s a different game.”
“I told them the first three minutes of the third quarter, we need to come out and erase any doubt,” Beachy said. “They responded.”
Wenger ended with 16 rebounds to go with her 30 points to lead Northmor. No other Knight reached in double figures, though seven besides Wenger did score.
“Last year, (Wenger) couldn’t get over 22,” Beachy said. “But that kid plays hard. She knows what to do. She has a high basketball IQ.”
Freshman Emma Tyrrell topped the Redmen with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Classmate Lily Neuman added seven.
“Emma played big and she played all 32 minutes as a freshman and it didn’t faze her,” Ulmer said. “That’s definitely a positive. Layla Ellis played all 32 minutes as our point guard. I think she played a great game.”
“We’re not good just to take plays off — half a quarter off,” Beachy said. “We’re not that good. We have to play hard every minute.”
“The good thing is it’s just little things (to correct),” Ulmer said. “It’s not huge. We’ll clean up a couple of little things and come back at it.
“There’s positives to take out of it,” Ulmer added. “We started one senior (Claire Schifer) and the rest were freshmen and sophomores. I think our effort was there. Until the clock went off, they never doubted us.”
Box score
Northmor 21 6 13 16 — 56
Bucyrus 9 10 9 12 — 66
Northmor (1-2): Shots 21-64; 3-pt. shots 2-13 (Lexi Wenger 2); Free throws 12-14; Rebounds 50 (Lexi Wenger 16); Turnovers 15. Scoring: Paige Caudill 3 0 6, Brooke Dennison 0 1 1, Haley Dille 2 0 4, Riley Johnson 2 0 4, Emilee Jordan 2 2 6, Reagan Snyder 1 1 3, Lexi Wenger 10 8 30. Emily Zeger 1 0 2.
Bucyrus (0-1): Shots 16-50; 3-pt. shots 2-12 (Layla Ellis, Maddie Kimmel); Free throws 7-16; Rebounds 37 (Emma Tyrrell 13); Turnovers 20. Scoring: Layla Ellis 1 0 3, Addison Ricker 3 0 6, Maddie Kimmel 1 2 5, Emma Tyrrell 7 2 16, Claire Schifer 1 0 2, Sierra Frost 1 0 2, Lily Neuman 2 3 7.