GALION (Crawford County Now) — Bucyrus guard Marissa Middleton didn’t hesitate with the game on the line.

The senior drove to her right to score the winning basket with 9 seconds on the clock and give the Lady Red a much-needed 38-36 win over Galion in a nonleague county rivalry here Tuesday night.

“Galion has been playing better lately and we saw that on film. I knew we were in for a fight, and it was,” head coach Brian Seybert said. “We built a little bit of a lead and couldn’t expand it, and they just kept chippin’ back. We did what we had to do to get the lead back.”

Bucyrus (2-18) was led by Middleton’s 17 points, along with 6 rebounds, 5 steals and an assist.

“Credit Marissa. She had a helluva ball game. The rest of the girls too. We played pretty good defense tonight and had more paint points than we’ve had in a long time.”

The Lady Red committed just one turnover in the first half and seven total.

“Seven turnovers. That’s amazing for us,” Seybert said.

Middleton got help from Malina Rowland, who came off the bench with 7 points and a pair of assists and Victoria Stang with 4 points and 6 boards.

Bucyrus fell behind early, but Middleton’s steal and basket gave the visitors a 5-4 lead.

The teams traded hoops as freshman Izzy Bowman came off the Galion bench to score a team-high 11 points and grab 7 rebounds.

“Izzy is a player. She’s really smooth,” said Lady Tigers head coach James Hart. “She’s one of those young players. They make a lot of mistakes at the varsity level, but she plays well and has a bright future. She and her sister Maryssa Scott are young but have bright futures.”

Scott, a sophomore post, chipped in 4 points and 4 rebounds.

Cameron Eckert got Galion going in the second period, along with McKenzie Halbisen. But Bucyrus pulled away late in the quarter to take a 25-18 halftime lead.

Rowland’s 3-point shot came with 1:37 left in the half as she scored all her points in that quarter.

“Savannah (Clark) didn’t start tonight, coming off a concussion. This is her first game back and we’re going to ease her back in slow. But, man, she was in attack mode tonight,” Seybert noted.

“Tori Stang, also great hustle and rebounding. Everybody pitched in somehow, some way tonight. They fought and they earned it.”

Galion (3-18) rallied as it outscored Bucyrus 10-5 in the third quarter.

Eckert hit a 3 that cut the margin to 28-26 and McKenzie Halbisen’s basket made it 30-28 heading into the fourth quarter.

Enter Middleton. Calm, cool and collected.

She scored all 8 Bucyrus points in the final quarter, including the game winner.

“That’s who you want taking that shot. You’ve got a four-year starter, point guard handling the ball,” Seybert said.

“She’s really worked on getting herself to the rim and finishing. She’s really picked it up and has been finishing like she did tonight.”

Bucyrus visits Carey on Saturday, followed by Crestline and then top-seed Margaretta in the Division VI sectional at 2 p.m. Feb. 15.

“All season long our kids have fought really hard. I’ve heard that from multiple coaches. We’re young and making young mistakes. We’re going to learn from it and move on,” Hart said.

Galion shot 14-of-48 from the field for 29%.

“We felt really good coming into tonight. We had good days of practice. But sometimes the ball doesn’t go through the hoop for you.”

The Lady Tigers visit Marion Harding Thursday and then have their third date with Clear Fork in the Division V sectional final at 7 p.m. Feb. 13. The Colts swept the season series against the Tigers.

“We try to relax and improve every game. We will show up, play hard and enjoy the (tournament) atmosphere.”

Box score

Bucyrus      11    14       5        8 — 38

Galion           9       9     10       8 — 36

Bucyrus (2-18): Shots 13-42; 3-pt. shots 1-7 (Malina Rowland); Free throws 11-18; Rebounds 23 (Marissa Middleton 6, Victoria Stang 6); Turnovers 7. Scoring: Aubrie Kimmel 1 3 5, Victoria Stang 2 0 4, Marissa Middleton 6 5 17, Lillyan Butchko 0 1 1, Malina Rowland 3 0 7, Savannah Clark 0 2 2, Madison Tyrrell 1 0 2.

Galion (3-18): Shots 14-48; 3-pt. shots 2-13 (Cameron Eckert, McKenzie Halbisen); Free throws 6-12; Rebounds 24 (Izzy Bowman 7); Turnovers 13. Scoring: Makayla Halbisen 1 0 2, Cameron Eckert 3 1 8, Jaiden Jones 0 2 2, McKenzie Halbisen 3 0 7, Elliott Freyman 1 0 2, Izzy Bowman 5 1 11, Maryssa Scott 1 2 4.

JV: Galion 28-24.