BUCYRUS — First-year Bucyrus coach Brian Seybert breathed a sigh of relief. His Lady Redmen had just secured his first career win in Game 3 of his inaugural season.
“It’s huge,” Seybert said of the win that must have had every bit the feel of cutting down nets after a tournament victory. “It’s nice.”
Bucyrus defeated Crestline, 47-18, in a nonleague game. But that didn’t lessen the importance for Seybert and his charges.
The Lady Bulldogs — winless on the season — wanted a win just as badly, but the big difference was the effectiveness of the Redmen press.
“That was the plan going in,” Seybert said of the pressure. “We figured, watching film against Temple Christian and against Loudonville, that they struggled against pressure. We figured if we press them, we could get some turnovers and some layups, some easy shots, we could take care of the game.”
Crestline (0-5) hung around in the first quarter despite the turnovers — nine in the opening frame — to trail just 8-7 after one quarter. However, as the turnovers piled up to 23 by halftime, the Redmen were able to take control of the game.
“I told my girls, ‘They’re going to press you until you stand up to it,’” Crestline coach Lance Hood said. “It’s a bully-type thing. I respect it because I would do the same thing.”
Kennedi Sipes kept the Bulldogs in the game with seven of her team’s points in the first quarter and nine for the half. But the Bucyrus size advantage began to take its toll.
“For once, yes and we were able to use that to our advantage,” Seybert said of the size mismatches. “I think our boxing out still has to get some work, backside, and just finding somebody who always seems to get that offensive rebound.”
The Bulldogs did manage to grab 36 rebounds for the game, but only 11 were offensive. And the effects of 34 turnovers offset the work on the boards. Conversely, Bucyrus (1-2) had 42 rebounds, 26 of which were on the offensive glass and the Redmen committed just 11 turnovers.
“At the end of the day, we do work on these things,” Hood said. “It’s just when you’re not working on your game during the summer, doing things, you tend to freeze up when that actually happens. It’s not a point of muscle memory yet to move the basketball quickly.”
Five Bucyrus players scored in the first half and six for the game. Emma Tyrrell led the way with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
“She’s got to be our main go-to,” Seybert said of Tyrrell. “She’s got to be in the front end of that press, get the steals, get the tips, get the layups, get the runouts. Most nights, she’ll probably be the fastest on the floor so we’ve got to take advantage of that when we can.”
Ady Rister and Maddie Kimmel each had eight points for Bucyrus and Addison Ricker added six. Seybert was especially impressed with Rister, playing her first year as a sophomore.
“She’s an energizer bunny,” Seybert said. “She gets in there, she can read passes, she jumps the passing lanes, and she works her tail off. She’s only going to get better, I think.”
The Crestline offense sputtered in the second half, totaling only six points — one in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs were two for 21 from the field in the final two quarter, six for 31 for the game.
“This will not go on forever,” Hood said. “The rap right now is, ‘Press Crestline.’ Have your fun right now because I’ve got some tricks coming for you.”
Sipes ended with 11 points to lead the Bulldogs and Aiyana Horn finished with four. Ellie Miller pulled down seven rebounds.
Bucyrus put up a whopping 71 shots, converting 22 of them. Neither team made a 3-point shot.
“That’s awesome,” Seybert said of the shot total. “I’m not sure we had 71 shots in the first two games combined. We’ll take that.”
“Bucyrus handled us, and all praises go out to them,” Hood said. “But you have to remember one thing — I’m a former Division I basketball player and if this program buys in, nobody, including Loudonville, will ever press us again.”
“We’ve got to be able to outlet it, see the floor, see the press and react to it quicker than we have been,” Seybert said. “Tonight was better than the first two games.”
Box score
Bucyrus 8 16 10 13 — 47
Crestline 7 5 5 1 — 18
Bucyrus (1-2): Shots 22-71; 3-pt. shots 0-11; Free throws 3-8; Rebounds 42 (Emma Tyrrell 13); Turnovers 11. Scoring: Addison Ricker 3 0 6, Maddie Kimmel 4 0 8, Kendra Blizzard 1 1 3, Emma Tyrrell 8 1 17, Adacyn Rister 4 0 8, Kelsie Grady 0 1 1, Karmyn Blizzard 2 0 4.
Crestline (0-5): Shots 6-31; 3-pt. shots 0-4; Free throws 6-12; Rebounds 36 (Ellie Miller 7); Turnovers 36. Scoring: Kennedi Sipes 4 3 11, Ellie Miller 0 1 1, Brooklyn Gregory 0 1 1, Maddie Engler 0 1 1, Aiyana Horn 2 0 4.