By Dan Messerschmidt

WILLARD — Bucyrus’ game with Fostoria might not have been a pretty picture from a fan’s standpoint. But to Lady Red coach Taylor Whitaker, it was as good as a Van Gogh.

Bucyrus overcame early foul trouble, a sluggish third quarter and 27 turnovers to defeat Fostoria, 51-34, in the opening round of the girls’ Division III sectional tournament at Willard High School.

The victory set up a third meeting with Northern 10 Conference foe Seneca East back at Willard on Saturday at 6 p.m. for the sectional title.

“They’re athletic and quick,” Whitaker said of Fostoria. “It’s hard to anticipate where they’re going and that results in fouls.”

Starters Izzy Burling and Shaina Orewiler each got whistled for two fouls in the first quarter and forcing them to the bench for much of the second quarter.

But Bucyrus (12-10) had built an 18-7 lead by the end of the first quarter and despite missing two starters, were able to increase the advantage to 28-11 by halftime. Orewiler helped by scoring seven of her game-high 15 points in the first quarter before going to the bench.

Fostoria (4-19) simply could not take advantage of Bucyrus’ difficulties. The northern Lady Redmen connected on just four of 25 shots from the field and committed 13 turnovers in the first two quarters.

“That’s the way it’s been all year,” Fostoria coach Gabe Sierra said of his team’s poor shooting. “We force up too many shots. We can’t get them to run an offense and we’re not very good shooters.”

Still, Fostoria clawed its way back with a fast start to the second half and a slumbering Bucyrus offense.

The northern Redmen went on a 9-0 run to begin the third quarter, with Evion Taylor scoring five of her team-high 11 points in the skein, to trim the deficit to 28-20.

“I don’t know what it is, we only scored three and five points in the last two games (in the third quarter),” Whitaker said. “We have to come out stronger in the second half.”

Fortunately for Bucyrus, Fostoria’s offense sputtered from there, totaling just two more points over the last five minutes of the period.

Bucyrus managed its five points, four coming from freshman Caleigh Rister off the bench, in the same time, enabling the Lady Red to push the lead back to 33-22 after three.

“We knew (Bucyrus) would turn the ball over but we couldn’t capitalize,” Sierra said. “They just couldn’t execute the game plan.”

An 8-2 run to start the fourth quarter pushed the Bucyrus lead back to 17, at 41-27, and converting eight of 11 free throws down the stretch, the Lady Red held off Fostoria.

Six of the seven Bucyrus players who saw action scored. Burling seconded Orewiler’s 15 points with 10 points and had 10 rebounds. Ni’Georia Floyd added eight points and the only non-scorer, Brooklyn Spears, grabbed 10 boards.

Larai Williams and J’Breonn Jones each scored six points in support of Taylor’s 11 for Fostoria. Tyriana Settles had 14 rebounds and Rubi Dessausure snared 12 caroms. The Lady Redmen hit only 13 of 57 shots.

“Our bench players went in and did a nice job,” Whitaker said. “They did what they needed to do to keep the lead.”

“They shot the ball well early,” Sierra said of Bucyrus. “In the first quarter, we were in a zone and we had to come out of it.

“Bucyrus works hard,” Sierra added. “Their record doesn’t prove how good they are.”

“It’s going to be tough,” Whitaker said of the rematch with Seneca East. “If we have a full game like our first half tonight, it can be a good game.”

Fostoria     7       4    11    12 — 34

Bucyrus    18    10      5    18 — 51

Stats

Fostoria (4-19): Shots 13-57; 3-pt shots 2-12 (Naija Miller, Evion Taylor); Free throws 6-15; Rebounds 40 (Tyriana Settles 14, Rubi Dessausure 12); Turnovers 29. Scoring: J’Breonn Jones 2 2 6, Naija Miller 2 0 5, Tyriana Settles 1 2 4, Evion Taylor 4 2 11, Larai Williams 3 0 6, Rubi Dessausure 1 0 2.

Bucyrus (12-10): Shots 18-54; 3-pt. shots 3-13 (Izzy Burling, Shaina Orewiler, Ashtyn Simms); Free throws 12-23; Rebounds 50 (Brooklyn Spears 10, Izzy Burling 10); Turnovers 27. Scoring: Ni’Georia Floyd 4 0 8, Caleigh Rister 2 2 6, Alivia Lewis 3 1 7, Izzy Burling 2 5 10, Shaina Orewiler 5 4 15, Ashtyn Simms 2 0 5.

Twitter: @TF_Schmidt

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