WILLARD — The No. 1 seed in a district tournament has a target on its back.
Having a sharpshooter break the school’s single-game made 3-point shots helps distract opponents from that target.
Buckeye Central’s Kate Siesel rained in eight 3s — including four in a row over the last 2:42 of the first quarter — and finished with 26 points as the top seeded Buckettes downed South Central, 65-51, in the opening round of the Division IV girls’ district at Robert L. Haas Gymnasium.
Buckeye Central advances to the district championship back at Willard on Saturday, where they will face Danbury, a 44-35 winner over Mansfield Christian in the first game.
“Obviously, Kate has the ability to shoot it really well,” Buckeye Central coach Abram Kaple said. “Just looking at the stats, she was eight of 13.”
Siesel broke her own single-game record of seven made 3s, which she shared with teammate and classmate, Sydney Wurm.
“I know her eyes kind of light up when teams play zone and that’s the route the chose to go and we were able to have good ball movement and find her in open spaces,” Kaple said.
The BC offense sputtered a little to start the game. The Buckettes missed their first six shots from the field and didn’t make their first field goal until 3:18 of the first on a basket by Kennedy Deppen.
Enter Siesel.
“We started off kind of slow, so those shots definitely helped,” Siesel said. “Once you make one, it kind of keeps coming.”
It may have seemed like a deluge to the Trojans, who were playing with a thin bench to start the game and ran into early foul trouble, as well.
“When Siesel got going, Grace (Lamoreaux) also went to the bench with fouls,” South Central coach John Vogel said. “So, that kind of took us out of our game plan.”
So much so that Siesel’s barrage turned an 8-6 Buckeye Central deficit into an 18-8 lead by period’s end. It turned into a 16-point Buckettes’ run into the second quarter.
“They’re a team that, if you let them get hot, they’re pretty hard to handle,” Vogel said of the Buckettes. “They’re hard to handle when they’re not hot, but when they’re making shots behind the arc, they’re double tough.”
Buckeye Central (21-3) kept the foot on the gas, stretching the lead to as many as 25, at 43-18, on a basket by Nevaeh Metzger. Kaili Ingram dropped a buzzer-beater to make it 43-20 at intermission.
“We fouled too many times,” Kaple said. “We gave them 12 points at the free throw line (in the first half). Again, that comes down to being undisciplined, not executing, and poor performance defensively.”
But 15 of 31 shooting in the first two quarters along with a 25-8 rebounding advantage more than made up for those deficiencies.
South Central (11-13) got the offense going in the third period, but the hot-shooting Buckettes were still able to pad their lead. They outscored the Trojans, 20-13, to inflate their lead to 63-33.
“Things that we were trying to do, they were taking away from us,” Vogel said. “So, give credit to a well-prepared team.”
Kaple subbed liberally early in the fourth quarter, and with South Central’s short bench, the subs were playing mostly against the Trojans’ starters. They made a dent in the deficit, with an 18-2 advantage in the fourth, but the Buckettes still won by double digits.
“They do have kids that can put the ball in the hole,” Kaple said. “Lamoreaux and (Kendyl) Beverly can score. We didn’t do a great job (defensively). We gave up straight-line drives. Credit them. The have some kids who can make shots.”
Beverly led the Trojans with 21 points and Lamoreaux added 16 points and seven rebounds.
“(Beverly) is the Firelands Conference leader in points. Grace leads the Firelands Conference in rebounds, assists, and steals,” Vogel said. “But people don’t realize how much Angela Williams does on the defensive end. Those steals and rebounds don’t come unless you’ve got a girl out there that’s that long and quick.”
Deppen added 15 points and seven rebounds to Siesel’s game-high 26 points. Ella Evak also grabbed seven rebounds.
“We could play better. Regardless of where you are, win or lose, there’s always areas to improve,” Kaple said. “We’ll take a look at the film tomorrow, focus on Danbury, and try to show the kids where the opportunities are on both ends of the floor.”
Vogel says goodbye to seniors Karlee McAvoy and Hannah Ayers.
“I’m proud of the girls, especially when we’re short on players and when we go down with injuries,” Vogel said. “It’s very had on them to keep their spirits up.”
Box score
South Central 8 12 13 18 — 51
Buckeye Central 18 25 20 2 — 65
South Central (11-13): Shots 17-46; 3-pt. 0-8; Free throws 17-22; Rebounds 22 (Grace Lamoreaux 7); Turnovers 12. Scoring: Kendyl Beverly 4 13 21, Angela Williams 2 2 6, Grace Lamoreaux 7 2 16, Kaili Ingram 2 0 4, Karley McAvoy 2 0 4.
Buckeye Central (21-3): Shots 23-49; 3-pt. 11-22 (Kate Siesel 8, Ryley Kantzer 2, Kennedy Deppen); Free throws 8-12; Rebounds 40 (Kennedy Deppen 7, Ella Evak 7); Turnovers 20. Scoring: Kate Siesel 9 0 26, Grace Collene 2 3 7, Kennedy Deppen 6 2 15, Nevaeh Metzger 3 1 7, Ryley Kantzer 3 0 8, Paige Collene 0 2 2.