NORTH ROBINSON — High percentage shooting makes up for other woes a basketball team might have.
Colonel Crawford produced the quintessential example of that Friday night at Mac Morrison Gymnasium.
The Eagles drilled nine 3-point shots over Bucyrus’ matchup zone defense and shot 40 percent overall to defeat the visiting Lady Red, 49-31, in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference game.
“It’s good to see that we shoot the ball well because our kids have put so much time in,” Colonel Crawford coach Zac Bauer said. “That’s what happens when you have a veteran team that decides last spring that we’re going to get better offensively.”
It was a two-person wrecking crew that was the undoing for Bucyrus (2-5, 0-3 N10). Mira Holt had four 3s on her way to a game-high 20 points and Lexi Dure added four more from behind the arc — on just five attempts — to finish with 12 points.
“Give a lot of credit to Coach (Brian) Seybert and Bucyrus. They do play a very hard zone,” Bauer said. “It’s hard to prepare for, especially as a man (defense) team like we are. We expressed to the kids if you get a kick out, you’ve got to be ready to shoot and make sure you’re mechanically sound. It was good to see those two (Holt and Dure) capitalize on the opportunities they were given.”
“Dure’s one of their top seven. On film, they’ve shown they’re capable of knocking down 3s,” Seybert said. “I thought with just a little more pressure that we would show, that would work in our favor. Credit to them. They finished shots on offense, they made shots on offense, and they play pretty solid ‘D’.”
On the other side, the Lady Red could not get the ball to go down consistently. They shot just 31 percent from the field and hit three of nine 3-point attempts. While the teams played on almost even terms in the second half, Bucyrus could not reduce the Eagles’ 29-15 halftime lead.
“We missed two layups right off the rip after steals. That kind of maybe set the tone,” Seybert said. “We had a chance to cut (the deficit) to six (in the second quarter) and we missed two free throws by one of our better shooters and that can’t happen when you’re trying to fight back.”
Marissa Middleton led the Lady Red in scoring with nine points. Addison Kemery had eight points and nine rebounds and Brook Dennison finished with seven points.
For Colonel Crawford (8-0, 3-0), Allison Weithman had seven points to supplement Holt’s 20 and Dure’s 12. Holt pulled down eight boards.
Both coaches acknowledged the physical nature of the game, as the teams combined for 32 turnovers.
“We can only control what we can control, and we need to be on better balance,” Bauer said. “If’ we’re going to take the ball to the basket, we’ve got to be prepared to be on balance and be in control and deliver the ball to hands.”
“We’ve got to find a way to make shots,” Seybert said. “We’re getting the shots we want; we’re just not getting the result of them.
“Give them credit. They play solid defense,” Seybert added. “They’re up in you and they’re very good at what they do. They’re undefeated for a reason.”
“Overall, we’re happy. We’re happy for the players. It was a tough game,” Bauer said. “You’re not going to get any easy nights in the N10 with the parity in our league, the way the teams are set up, and the rivalries that we have. It’s fun to come into an environment when it’s crowded, and the opponent’s always going to come in and play hard. It always creates a good time.”
“I told the girls I don’t fault their effort,” Seybert said. “They gave energy, they played with energy, they didn’t back down. At some point in time, these shots have to start falling for us.”
Box score
Bucyrus 7 8 8 8 — 31
Colonel Crawford 13 16 9 11 — 49
Bucyrus (2-5, 0-3 N10): Shots 11-35; 3-pt. shots 3-9 (Brook Dennison, Addison Ricker, Marissa Middleton); Free throws 6-10; Rebounds 24 (Addison Kemery 9); Turnovers 18. Scoring: Addison Ricker 1 0 3, Brook Dennison 3 0 7, Addison Kemery 3 2 8, Marissa Middleton 2 4 9, Malina Rowland 2 0 4.
Colonel Crawford (8-0, 3-0 N10): Shots 18-45; 3-pt. shots 9-21 (Mira Holt 4, Lexi Dure 4, Allison Weithman); Free throws 4-5; Rebounds 29 (Mira Holt 8); Turnovers 14. Scoring: Gabby Roston 1 2 4, Mira Holt 8 0 20, Allison Weithman 3 0 7, Lexi Dure 4 0 12, Ayla McKibben 2 1 5, Lynae McKibben 0 1 1.
JV: Colonel Crawford 42-4.