GALION — Even though Northmor was playing its second game in as many days, the Golden Knights seemed energized.
On the other side, Bucyrus played flat early to open the season
Northmor came off a disappointing 47-43 loss to Colonel Crawford on Friday to bounce back and beat the Lady Redmen, 49-23, on Saturday.
“We had a lot of young girls coming in at the varsity level,” Bucyrus coach Taylor Tackett said. “I just didn’t think we came I out with the energy I was hoping to see tonight.”
Bucyrus missed its first 17 shots from the field and didn’t score its first point until midway through the second quarter on a free throw by Karmyn Blizzard.
In the meantime, Northmor registered the first 18 points of the game, going out to a 14-0 first-quarter advantage. Lexi Wenger’s five points led five different Knights in scoring.
Despite hitting just two of 14 shots in the second period, built a 20-6 halftime lead.
“I think tired legs,” Northmor coach Fred Beachy said of the second quarter shooting struggles. “(Friday) night, they played right to the last second, running, and they had to turn around and play again. I don’t care how much you condition, it’s basketball speed.”
Poor shooting early combined with turnovers helped dig the hole for the Redmen that they couldn’t crawl out of.
“One of our weaknesses is our decision making, quick shooting,” Tackett said. “We practice it a lot. That’s a hard thing to get the girls to do because (each situation) is different every time.”
Northmor’s size advantage took its toll on Bucyrus as the game wore on and the Knights were able use their quickness to score in transition. An 6-1 start to the second half expanded the lead to 26-7 and left little doubt to the outcome.
“Normally, we’re undersized. We’re usually the shortest team,” Beachy said. “Seeing them, I thought, ‘We might be the tallest team out there by a half inch.’”
Wenger scored five more points in the third quarter to push the Northmor advantage to 33-12 by period’s end.
The needle moved somewhat for the Bucyrus offense in the second half, with 17 of the 23 points coming in the final two quarters.
“In the second half, they brought a little bit more energy,” Tackett said of her young squad. “I think if we would have come out with that in the first half, it would have been a little bit different.”
The Knights forced 29 Redmen turnovers without pressing a single possession and that was a major factor in the scoring discrepancy.
“We really stress it,” Beachy said. “One hour each day we strictly go over defense. Quit reaching, show your hands and make them make the mistakes.”
Northmor’s Wenger led all scorers with 14 points and Reagan Swihart finished with eight. Nine different Knights scored in all. Macy Miracle grabbed nine rebounds as Northmor held a 48-39 edge on the glass.
“We really struggled to box out,” Tackett said. “If we would have boxed out a little more, I think we could have limited their second and third chances and could have held them under 50 a little bit better.”
Caleigh Rister led Bucyrus with seven points and 12 rebounds. Hayli Stoffer added five as did Maddie Kimmel in making her first varsity start.
“We had two freshmen that played a lot the they are normally on JV,” Beachy said. “And we had two sophomores that are mainly on JV who got to play.”
Due to Bucyrus’ low numbers and a couple of injuries, there was no junior varsity game.
“Our goals at this point are just to go out and compete and gain some experience so when the second half of the season rolls around, we’ll be ready to go,” Tackett said. “With low numbers and injuries mixed in, we just haven’t got into the groove yet.”
Box score
Bucyrus 0 6 6 11 — 23
Northmor 14 6 13 16 — 49
Bucyrus (0-1): Shots 6-46; 3-pt. shots 1-9 (Alexxus Fannin); Free throws 10-18; Rebounds 39 (Caleigh Rister 12); Turnovers 29. Scoring: Caleigh Rister 1 5 7, Taisha Spears 1 0 2, Hayli Stoffer 2 1 5, Karmyn Blizzard 0 1 1, Maddie Kimmel 1 3 5, Alexxus Fannin 1 0 3.
Northmor (1-1): Shots 18-57; 3-pt. shots 2-17 (Julianna Ditullio, Lexi Wenger); Free throws 11-16; Rebounds 48 (Macy Miracle 9); Turnovers 20. Scoring: Reagan Swihart 4 0 8, Paige Caudill 3 0 6, Julianna Ditullio 1 0 3, Haley Dille 3 1 7, Taylor Linkous 1 2 4, Macy Miracle 2 0 4, McKenna Van Dyke 0 1 1, Lexi Wenger 4 5 14, Emily Zeger 0 2 2.