BUCYRUS — Standing on the floor of Alex Kish Memorial Gymnasium, Bucyrus coach Brian Seybert looked like a man who just had the weight of the world lifted off his shoulders.
Seybert watched as his young team ended a season-long 17-game losing streak with a convincing 55-37 non-league win over Vanlue Saturday afternoon.
“It was a great job,” Seybert beamed. “(Freshman) Ni’Cia (Floyd) with 21 and Karlee (Shull) got it all started hitting four 3s early on and (finished with) 17 points. We actually put four quarters together finally.”
The quick start in the first quarter was fueled by three of Shull’s distance shots and another from freshman Makinsey Weiler at the buzzer. The result was a 17-6 lead for Bucyrus (1-17) after one.
The Wildcats suffered a year-long recurring problem — difficulty finding the bottom of the net. Vanlue (3-16) hit only 22 percent (11 of 49 attempts) from the floor, including two of 10 in the first period and two of 18 in the third.
“I’ve told our girls all year, I think my eight girls play as hard as any eight girls play,” Vanlue coach Robert Brooks said. “You can set up a play, get a wide-open shot, but if it doesn’t go in, there ain’t much you can do.”
The visitors trimmed two points off their deficit in the second quarter, thanks to Adrienne Phillips scoring seven of her team-high 13 points in the frame. The Lady Red still maintained a 28-19 edge heading to halftime.
Floyd took over offensively in the third quarter, putting up eight of her 21 points. Bucyrus led by as many as 19 — at 40-21 on a free throw by Savannah Clark at the 2:10 mark — before settling for a 44-27 advantage by period’s end.
The Lady Red built the lead despite negotiating foul trouble throughout and having to rely on heavy minutes from the bench to maintain the lead.
“It got to the point where we’re not coaching Xs and Os anymore, we’re coaching composure and poise,” Seybert said. “I thought the girls did a great job of doing that.”
“My kids play hard. They’re good kids,” Brooks said. “We just can’t get the ball to go in the hole this year.”
The Wildcats had one last run in them to start the fourth quarter, scoring the first eight points of the period in the first 2:16 which cut their deficit to 44-35.
But Bucyrus responded by closing out the game on an 11-2 run to win going away.
“They got it down to within nine and the girls said, ‘That’s enough,’ took control, put their foot on the gas, and kept going,” Seybert said.
The main difference was shot making. Both teams shot 21 free throws, the Wildcats held an edge on the boards, 39-33, including 21-13 on the offensive end, and the Lady Red had three fewer turnovers, 22-19.
“Before the game we talked, us coaches, and we both admitted that it would be a very good game, very competitive,” Brooks said. “Last year, it came down to a last-second shot. We make five more shots that we didn’t make, layups we missed, and it is a one or two possession game.”
Candace Saltzman seconded Phillips’ 13 with 10 for Vanlue. Alison Brooks grabbed 11 rebounds.
While Floyd and Shull carried the bulk of the scoring, eight different Lady Red players registered points. Tori Stang had seven boards.
Seybert credited his team’s defense with being at least partly responsible for Vanlue’s shooting woes.
“They didn’t get a lot of easy looks, and they were having to work for it,” Seybert said. “They could get it inside, but they had to shoot over us.”
Brooks tipped his cap to the Lady Red, who shot 42 percent from the floor.
“Good for them. It was their day. It wasn’t ours,” Brooks said. “Give them credit. They made their shots and they beat us, fair and square.”
Another potentially competitive game awaits Bucyrus as they hit the road on Thursday.
“Now we concentrate on going to Upper Scioto Valley — new place, new team we’ve never faced before,” Seybert said. “They’re young, we match up size wise really well with them, so we’re going to see what we can do over there., see if we can string a couple of wins together.”
Box score
Vanlue 6 13 8 10 — 37
Bucyrus 17 11 16 11 — 55
Vanlue (3-16): Shots 11-49; 3-pt. shots 0-11; Free throws 15-21; Rebounds 39 (Alison Brooks 11); Turnovers 22. Scoring: Bella Wallen 1 0 2, Adrienne Phillips 2 9 13, Alison Brooks 3 0 6, Riley Holbrook 2 0 4, Candace Saltzman 3 4 10, Madison Brooks 0 2 2.
Bucyrus (1-17): Shots 18-43; 3-pt. shots 6-14 (Karlee Shull 4, Makinsey Weiler, Lillyan Butchko); Free throws 13-21; Rebounds 33 (Tori Stang 7); Turnovers 19. Scoring: Ni’Cia Floyd 8 5 21, Macie Hubble 0 2 2, Karlee Shull 6 1 17, Maci Messerschmidt 1 0 2, Tori Stang 1 0 2, Makinsey Weiler 1 0 3, Lillyan Butchko 1 0 3, Savannah Clark 0 5 5.