BUCYRUS — Bucyrus has established itself as a team that can rally after falling behind.
Coach Brian Seybert wishes they wouldn’t put themselves in that position so often.
As has become their modus operandi, the Lady Red fell behind league-leading Colonel Crawford, 28-15, at halftime. Bucyrus outscored the Eagles, 29-19, in the second half to get within two points before dropping a 47-44 Northern 10 Athletic Conference thriller at Alex Kish Memorial Gymnasium.
“We told them after the game it was a tremendous effort in the second half,” Seybert said. “But we have to find a way to end this moniker that we’re a good comeback team.”
The Lady Red never led as Colonel Crawford (14-1, 8-1 N10) scored the first four points and built a modest 9-6 lead after one period. The game was tied 4-4, the only tie of the game.
The Eagles took control of the game in the second quarter. Lexi Rush and Lexi Dure came off the bench to combine for 10 of their team’s 19 points in the frame. Bucyrus (4-10, 1-8) managed just nine points and went to the locker room trailing 28-15.
“We’re fortunate there with the quality players both of those girls are,” Colonel Crawford coach Zac Bauer said. “They work very hard at their skills and that is the beauty of our team. It could be anybody. It’s not just one girl.”
The Lady Red rally was fueled by a discussion in the locker room at halftime.
“It was a fiery speech, and it was from my varsity assistant, Bart Dennison,” Seybert said. “He laid the law down on them and they responded.”
Bucyrus started the third quarter on an 8-3 run to cut the deficit to 31-23. Even though Colonel Crawford settled down and got the lead back to 41-30 by period’s end, there was a different vibe.
The Lady Red started the fourth period on a 12-3 run to trim the deficit to 44-42 with 1:06 to go. The Eagles were just one for nine from the field in the final eight minutes.
“We missed a lot of easy shots around the basket. If we see some of those fall, things go different on the perimeter shots,” Bauer said. “In the flow of the game, we have to decide whether we want to go off one foot or two feet when we’re in the paint to finish. Our finishing has to get better and that will lead to better three-point shooting.”
Bucyrus couldn’t get over the hump, however. Colonel Crawford converted three of six free throws to push their lead back to 47-42 before Brook Dennison hit a layup to set the final score at 47-44.
“They gave themselves an opportunity (to win),” Seybert said. “We got it to two. We had a shot at that point, We had a wide open three to tie it late in the game.”
Mira Holt led a balanced Colonel Crawford attack with 10 points. Rush and Ayla McKibben had eight points each, while Gabby Roston added six points and eight rebounds.
Bauer said his team was up to the physical nature of the contest.
“We’re fortunate to have some composed kids and they’re mentally tough,” Bauer said. “We do work on physicality in practice. That’s something I think has benefited us and it’s a credit to the girls’ off-season work.”
Dennison — the leading scorer in the N10 — topped Bucyrus with 18 points. Addison Ricker had 12 points and Addison Kemery grabbed seven rebounds.
“Addy Ricker scored 12 points (today) and a lot that was just girls finding her,” Seybert said. “She did a great job knocking the shots down when she got the opportunity.”
Bauer was asked about Bucyrus being a tough place for his team to play, having been upset there last year.
“You could say anyplace we go is a hard place to play because of the quality of our league,” Bauer said. “Coach Seybert and I talked about this before the game. Every league game in the girls’ division is a battle. Every team has girls that can play, and you go against quality head coaches.
“Sometimes you’re fortunate enough to have a big lead and hang on and survive,” he added. “When you come into a place like this and it’s big and it’s loud — that’s nice to have.”
“We played the first-place team today. We play Wynford next Saturday and they’re in third place,” Seybert said. “Both of these teams are in our district and there’s a possibility of seeing them again. They’ve got to believe and trust in themselves that we can play with these top tier teams in our league.”
Box score
Colonel Crawford 9 19 13 6 — 47
Bucyrus 6 9 15 14 — 44
Colonel Crawford (14-1, 8-1 N10): Shots 17-55; 3-pt. shots 7-27 (Allison Weithman 2, Ayla McKibben 2, Gabby Roston, Mira Holt, Lynae McKibben); Free throws 6-13; Rebounds 36 (Gabby Roston 8); Turnovers 14. Scoring: Gabby Roston 2 1 6, Mira Holt 3 3 10, Allison Weithman 2 0 6, Lexi Rush 4 0 8, Lexi Dure 2 0 4, Ayla McKibben 3 0 8, Lynae McKibben 1 2 5.
Bucyrus (4-10, 1-8 N10): Shots 16-37; 3-pt. shots 1-13 (Kendra Blizzard); Free throws 11-14; Rebounds 24 (Addison Kemery 7); Turnovers 16. Scoring: Kimmy Burling 0 2 2, Addison Ricker 5 2 12, Kendra Blizzard 2 0 5, Brook Dennison 7 4 18, Addison Kemery 1 1 3, Marissa Middleton 1 2 4.
JV: Colonel Crawford 48-12.