NORTH ROBINSON (Crawford County Now) — A strong start kept Buckeye Central in the game against its Route 602 rival, trailing by four at halftime.
But the constant suffocating pressure by Colonel Crawford created havoc — and 29 turnovers — for the visitors, who fell 67-42 in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference game at Mac Morrison Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.
“We came in and knew we were going to have to make shots, and we’d have to win the turnovers,” said Buckeye Central head coach Tyler Shade. “We shot really, really well in that first half and the score reflected it. You cool off in the second half and the game flips.”
Buckeye Central (3-5, 2-2) relied heavily on the 3-point shot, with the Buckettes connecting on half of their 18 attempts, led by Megan Siefert’s four and Jenna Cianflone’s three.
Cianflone, a 5-foot 3 sophomore, had 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and an assist. Siefert had 13 points, 3 rebounds and a steal.
“They’re just relentless on it (pressure). You handle it well for two, three or four possessions in a row, and it just wears on you … next thing you’ve got a turnover and another turnover and that’s how you get a lopsided third quarter like we had.”
Colonel Crawford (6-1, 4-0) limited Buckeye to just two free throws in that quarter while scoring 19 to pull away 51-30. Three players reached double figures led by Emmi Powers with 15, Robin Ehmann with 14, and Reese Redman with 11 off the bench.
Lady Eagles head coach Zac Bauer liked his team’s resilience.
“You’re going to get everybody’s best shot when you come to Crawford. That’s sort of a statement about our league. It’s a team’s mentality to be ready to play,” he said. “Credit Buckeye for coming in and shooting at a high percentage. Credit to our kids for not getting rattled because we played really great defense.”
“We were contesting with two hands. We were a step and a half like we teach, and they just made shots. In the past that’s affected our body language and our mood and that didn’t happen today,” Bauer said.
“That’s the sign of a tough team and it’s a credit to our leader Lexi Duré. Her leadership and her assertiveness is where our team starts and stops.
“She sets the tone, shooting six free throws in the first quarter, and everybody else follows. She decided she was going to be assertive and play downhill and we did that,” he said.
Duré added 8 points, along with 7 rebounds, a steal and an assist.
As a team the Lady Eagles had 18 steals, with Powers nabbing 8.
The rebounding edge was significant with CC holding a 34-22 edge, including 13 on the offensive end with 7 of those coming from the 5-foot-10 junior Ehmann.
BC also was just 7-of-19 from the foul line with Colonel Crawford shooting 9-of-15.
“Coming in those two were at the top of the scouting report. Emmi does a phenomenal job of being a creator and a facilitator for them as well as a scorer,” Shade said. “Robin’s offensive rebound abilities and her skill around the rim. You put your focus on them, and their role players step up and make shots.”
Ehmann had 8 points and Powers 6 in that third quarter.
Getting senior forward Aleyse Siefert back from a knee injury gave the Buckettes their pulse back.
“It’s huge for us,” Shade said. “She’s that floor general for us and was our leading scorer before the injury. She brings that calmness and leadership.
“It’s great to have her back out there after not doing anything for two weeks.”
Aleyse Siefert finished with 5 points, 5 rebounds and one blocked shot.
“I’m pleased with how our underclassmen stepped up. The Mac’s a tough place to play. We knew Crawford comes out and defends the heck out of you. with the crowd and the atmosphere, I thought they stepped up to the moment.”
The Buckettes get a full week off to rest and recover.
“We’ll knock the rust off and get back at it next week against Mohawk. The next few days are about us, getting some stuff cleaned up and be ready to go.”
Bauer noted that his leading scorers do the little things right as well.
“You can’t undervalue the things they (Ehmann and Powers) do with the ball in their hands and without the ball in their hands. Robin was challenged coming in after her sophomore year. Can you generate more touches with your off-ball play? She gets two runouts but that is a skill that is undervalued.
“When she sees Emmi go, she doesn’t watch. She moves and that off-ball play generates a lot of baskets. Both are really good passing and have built that camaraderie and chemistry together,” he said.
A loss to Willard earlier in the week didn’t deter Colonel Crawford. In fact, it may have fueled the fire.
“We told the girls going into Wednesday that we scheduled this game to test you. Willard’s a great team. They’re big, physical and experienced. It’s a tournament game.
“If we want to make tournament runs like we have made, you play tough non-league games. So it was good to see our kids re-focus and re-assert themselves, and with a freshman and two sophomores in our lineup.”
Crawford hosts Lexington in non-league play on Monday before hosting Bucyrus Saturday.
Box score
Buckeye Central 11 17 2 12 — 42
Colonel Crawford 14 18 19 16 — 67
Buckeye Central (3-5, 2-2 N10): Shots 13-38; 3-pt. shots 9-18 (Megan Siefert 4, Jenna Cianflone 3, Ella Colleen, Macy Deppen); Free throws 7-19; Rebounds 22 (Alyese Siefert 5, Jenna Cianflone 5); Turnovers 29. Scoring: Jenna Cianflone 5 1 14, Alyese Siefert 1 3 5, Myli Estridge 0 2 2, Megan Siefert 4 1 13, Ella Colleen 2 0 5, Macy Deppen 1 0 3.
Colonel Crawford (6-1, 4-0 N10): Shots 25-59; 3-pt. shots 8-26 (Reese Redman 3, Claire Smith 2, Saylor Holt, Emmi Powers, Lila Pleasac); Free throws 4-6; Rebounds 34 (Robin Ehmann 14); Turnovers 7. Scoring: Saylor Holt 1 3 6, Lila Plesac 1 0 3, Emmi Powers 7 0 15, Claire Smith 2 0 6, Robin Ehmann 7 0 14, Lily Alberty 2 0 4, Lexi Dure 2 4 8, Reese Redman 3 2 11.
JV: Colonel Crawford 44-15.