MASSILLON — An Elite 8 appearance and a great ride came to an abrupt halt.
Buckeye Central’s incredible season ended after a 34-28 loss to New Middletown Springfield in the Division IV Regional final at Perry High School Saturday night.
The Buckettes (23-4) had difficulty shooting the ball, hitting on just 9-of-44 attempts and 4-for-24 from three-point range.
Head coach Abram Kaple admitted it was a tough night offensively.
“It’s 11-10 at halftime and it felt like we were down 15. We felt like we weathered the storm for as poorly as we played in the first half. I didn’t think we played great on Thursday. But I thought it would come in the second half.”
A Ryley Kantzer 35-foot shot at the buzzer made it a one-score game and the second half started with some momentum.
The Buckettes took their first lead to open the second half when Sydney Wurm drained a three. After Jacy Mullen hit a basket and converted a free throw to tie it for the Tigers, Wurm hit a second three-point shot to put Buckeye up 16-14.
That would be the last time the Buckettes would hold the lead as Mullen hit two baskets and Springfield went up 24-22 after the third quarter.
Wurm and Kantzer had 7 points each for BC and Kate Siesel added 6 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals.
“It was a fun season. It’s awesome making it this far. We put our hearts out there. It was an opportunity, but we fell short,” Siesel said.
“We proved them all wrong. We just came up a little short.”
Springfield (24-3) head coach John Matisi said the style of game was not a surprise.
“We knew it was going to be a defensive battle. It was a rock fight. We struggle to score sometimes, and they’ve been up and down and had a girl coming off an injury,” he said.
“We wanted to limit our turnovers and play elite defense to win a game out here. This game was a perfect example of that. These girls carried us for two weeks,” Matisi said.
“We’ve been up and down the last couple games, but they’ve picked it up for us. Maddy (Madison Lesnak) handling the ball for us. Jacy coming and being the scorer (13 points) and Jameka (10 points.) The other girls feed off of them.”
The Tigers advance to play Toledo Christian in the state tournament at 6 p.m. Thursday in Dayton. They beat Columbus Grove 43-21 in the Region 14 semifinal contest.
Springfield’s size mattered.
“They got two bigs. Mullins can play outside a little bit. Paige picking up two early fouls kind of put us in a predicament in terms of how we were going to substitute and how our matchups went,” Kaple said.
“I take responsibility for that. I didn’t do a very good job of putting our kids in a good position defensively. I’m 100% to blame for that.”
Trailing in a game has not been a common occurrence for Buckeye Central.
“We haven’t had to play from behind, so when we do, I thought we hit the panic button a little bit early. That’s nobody’s fault. The majority of the games we’ve led and kind of dictated the tempo; a little bit of unfamiliar territory,” Kaple noted.
“Yeah, we rushed some shots. That falls on me.”
Paige Collene, who embodied the toughness of the Buckettes all season, said the squad overcame a lot of doubters.
“It’s been a crazy ride. At the beginning of our season everybody doubted our team. Not Buckeye Central as a whole, but us 5 seniors. They were so scared that we were going to ruin the program that we had to put Defend The Legacy on our shirts,” she said.
Despite getting 3 personal fouls in the first half and sitting out minutes, Collene had 4 rebounds and a steal.
“I think we proved game after game after game we were not only not going to ruin the legacy, but we were going to carry on the legacy. I’m really proud of what we did this season. A lot of people didn’t think we were going to win the N10. We weren’t supposed to win the N10, and we almost made it to state,” Collene said.
“I’m proud of us seniors. We had a lot of doubters, but we chose to come and work hard every day and play for each other.”
With Collene on the bench, it enabled the two bigs for Springfield — Mullen and Jameka Brungard — to combine for 21 of the team’s 35 rebounds.
“We didn’t make shots. They’re a good team. I knew it was important for my team, but from the get-go I got a couple of quick fouls, and I knew it was going to be hard for my team to pick up. That stuff happens sometimes.”
Kennedy Deppen got her fourth personal foul midway through the fourth quarter. But she still managed 12 rebounds and 4 points.
Kaple put the season in perspective.
“For us to be 23-4 after what we graduated. Somebody in the media said we were picked to finish third in the league. We did what we had to do. We took care of business. We won the league,” he said.
“The three regular season losses to Smithville, who is really good, legit. Shelby, a traditional D-II power, and Wynford, who’s won it every year and just outplayed us that night. To continue to improve means we’re doing the right things and our kids are putting in a lot of work.”
The quintet of Siesel, Deppen, Wurm, Ryley Kantzer and Collene that departs certainly left a mark on the program.
“They’ve had a great career and have a lot to be proud of, and I’m extremely proud of them.”
Box score
Buckeye Central 5 5 12 6 — 28
Springfield 9 2 13 10 — 34
Buckeye Central (23-4): Shots 9-44; 3-pt. 4-24 (Sydney Wurm 2, Kate Siesel, Ryley Kantzer); Free throws 6-8; Rebounds 33 (Kennedy Deppen 12); Turnovers 11. Scoring: Kate Siesel 2 1 6, Sydney Wurm 2 1 7, Kennedy Deppen 1 2 4, Nevaeh Metzger 2 0 4, Ryley Kantzer 2 2 7.
Springfield (24-3): Shots 13-41; 3-pt. 1-9; Free throws 7-13; Rebounds 35 (Jacy Mullen 11, Jameka Brungard 10); Turnovers 12. Scoring: Mariana Tuscano 1 1 3, Madison Lesnak 2 0 5, Jacey Mullen 4 5 13, Ava Vecchione 1 1 3, Jameka Brungard 5 0 10.