NORTH ROBINSON — Expectations were high for Colonel Crawford coming into the current season.
With much of the core of last year’s Northern 10 Athletic Conference third-place team, the Eagles were looking to take the next step.
The result was a No. 2 seed in the Division IV district tournament and a bye into the sectional final at home.
After upsetting No. 5 Wynford on Thursday in the semifinal, Bucyrus was looking to pull back-to-back upsets of N10 rivals.
For three-plus quarters, the Lady Red gave it their best shot. But a late surge by Colonel Crawford allowed the hosts to turn a two-point game into a 41-27 win.
The Eagles will move to the district tournament at Shelby to take on Clear Fork, a 60-34 winner over Huron in another sectional final.
Bucyrus (9-15) fell behind, 10-2, after the first quarter, but never trailed by more than 11 until late in the game. The Lady Red had trimmed their deficit to 21-16 by halftime.
After the first quarter and at halftime, I asked them, just give yourselves a shot,” Bucyrus coach Brian Seybert said. “They’re (Colonel Crawford) a solid defensive team, No.2 team in the district for a reason. If you want to advance in the tournament, you’ve got to challenge and try to beat teams like that.”
Seybert’s charges answered his request, pulling within 29-27 early in the fourth quarter on a pair of free throws by Marissa Middleton. The Lady Red then forced a turnover and had a possession to tie or take the lead.
The Eagles bent but never broke, which Colonel Crawford coach Zac Bauer attributed to patience.
“That’s something we worked really, really hard on this week, getting quality possessions,” Bauer said. “It doesn’t need to be a one-pass shot. We’re not going to win the game on one possession or on one pass.”
From there, it became the Gabby Roston show. The diminutive junior scored 10 of her game-high 13 points after Bucyrus had nearly tied the game. Roston was eight for eight from the free throw line in the final period, 11 of 12 for the game.
“That’s Gabby Roston,” Bauer said. “She’s tough, not afraid to stick her nose in there and she’s gotten so much better at the free throw line late in games and that’s where she makes a huge difference.”
Lady Red’s Brook Dennison — second-leading scorer in the N10 and a focal point of the Colonel Crawford (18-5) defense all game — scored only three of her team-high 12 points in the second half.
Despite going 0-10 from the field in the fourth quarter, Bucyrus had scored the first three points of the frame on a free throw by Kimmy Burling and Middleton’s pair from the stripe to get it to a two-point game with 7:09 to go.
It remained at two points until Roston grabbed her own missed shot and got the ball to Lexi Rush who scored to make it 31-27 with 3:23 left. Lady Red missed six shots from there — five from three-point range — as the clock became the enemy and they were forced to foul, sending Roston to the line where she flourished.
“Credit to Crawford for the way they played,” Seybert said. “They deserved to win. We fought like crazy to try to get ourselves a win.”
Rush supported Roston’s 13 points with 10 for the Eagles and Mira Holt added nine on three 3s. Holt grabbed nine rebounds.
“We slowed down,” Bauer said. “We got good looks, and we got the ball into the paint — maybe not always shooting the ball. We got paint touches, whether drive or pass, and then kick-out 3s and that’s where we’re the best.”
“They didn’t go off, but they’re good at getting to the rim when they want,” Seybert said. “And they’re patient with their possessions and we knew that coming in. They’re going to try to get, not a good shot, they’re going to try to get a great shot. They played their game and kept us out of ours. That’s what good teams do. We’re working to get to that standard, and I think we’re on our way.”
Other than Dennison’s 12 points, no other Bucyrus player was in double figures. Addison Ricker was next with four points. Dennison had six rebounds.
Seybert said it would be difficult to say goodbye to his five seniors.
“I love each one of these girls — all our seniors,” Seybert said. “Addy Ricker, Kendra Blizzard, Addy Kemery, Brook Dennison, Adria Taylor. They deserved to have a chance to win this today. They gave them that.”
Colonel Crawford has unfinished business.
“When the year started, there were expectations out there for this team,” Bauer said. “We need to learn to live to our own expectations, day in and day out, hold yourselves to a higher standard than anybody else can.”
“We’re not a pushover anymore,” Seybert said. “You play us, you better come and compete because that’s what we’re going to do. We’re not going to back down. The girls gave everything tonight, everything they had, every single one of them. The energy level was just as good tonight as it was (at Wynford). Sometimes, it just doesn’t go your way.”
Bauer’s attention can now turn to Clear Fork and the district tournament.
“We’re going to start that process tomorrow, seeing what Clear Fork will do and prepare from there,” Bauer said. “In the tournament, you can’t look too far ahead. You’ve got to look at one game at a time. Our focus has been on Bucyrus since Thursday. The focus starting tomorrow is Clear Fork and we’ll be ready with a game plan for our girls by Monday. They’ll be ready by the time Thursday rolls around.”
Box score
Bucyrus 2 14 8 3 — 27
Colonel Crawford 10 11 8 12 — 41
Bucyrus (9-15): Shots 9-32; 3-pt. shots 4-17 (Brook Dennison 2, Kendra Blizzard, Addison Kemery); Free throws 5-6; Rebounds 20 (Brook Dennison 6); Turnovers 14. Scoring: Kimmy Burling 1 1 3, Addison Ricker 2 0 4, Kendra Blizzard 1 0 3, Brook Dennison 4 2 12, Addison Kemery 1 0 3, Marissa Middleton 0 2 2.
Colonel Crawford (18-5): Shots 12-38; 3-pt. shots 3-14 (Mira Holt 3); Free throws 14-16; Rebounds 29 (Mira Holt 9); Turnovers 10. Scoring: Gabby Roston 1 11 13, Mira Holt 3 0 9, Allison Weithman 2 0 4, Lexi Rush 5 0 10, Lexi Dure 1 1 3, Lynae McKibben 0 2 2.