EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first in a six-part series profiling the Crawford County Sports Hall of Fame inductees.
NEW WASHINGTON — The 1984-85 Buckeye Central girls basketball team was the most powerful small-school outfit in Ohio.
“This team was not made of any single All-Star player. We had very unselfish players,” Anissa Tuttle noted. “Teams struggled to compete with us because any one of us could score. Teams that tried to shut down one player, because they scored most in the last game, would find that someone else was now the threat.”
The Buckettes finished the season with a 25-1 record, averaging 52 points per game. B.C. defeated Zanesville Rosecrans 58-49 in the state semifinals to advance to the final game. Lisa Crace had 13 points and Jill Studer had 12. Rosecrans was a two-time state champion.
In the final game, Buckeye Central topped Tipp City Bethel 48-44. In that game, the fifth-ranked Buckettes held Class A Player of the Year, Kelly Lyons, to just two points, 26 points below her average. The 6’1” junior fouled out with 2:51 to play.
Coach Vainard Spiess credited Traci Kehres for her defensive play in denying Lyons the ball. After the victory, Spiess credited the team play of the Buckettes for the final victory.
Top scorers for the game were Kelly Forehand with 14, Traci Kehres 11 and Jill Studer 10.
“We were a very disciplined and focused team. Coach Spiess was to credit for this. We had rules and expectations. For example, if we were tardy to school due to being a little tired, coach assumed we were not in good enough shape. Practice would take care of that,” Tuttle noted. “We respected and trusted him. He knew what he was doing. He did not let us get pulled into the hype of any one game, before or after. He never reported to the papers about one player in particular, only the team.
“Even at the state championship, we slept in our own beds between the semifinal and final game. He didn’t want us to lose our focus with any excitement or distraction of a hotel room. No one questioned it, he knew what he was doing.”
The 1985 team roster included Spiess and assistant coach Chuck Snyder. Team members: Kelly Forehand, Linda Dye, Diane Kempf, Jenny Kaple, Jill Studer, Traci Kehres, Lisa Crace, Leslie Zucker, Annissa Rhodebeck, Tammi Kehres, and manager Joanna Norris.
The only loss in 1985 was to River Valley 48-41. The 1985 squad was also the first Buckeye Central team to beat Mansfield St. Peter’s Mansfield on its home court.
“We had a lot of support starting with our parents and families,” Tuttle said. “The town backed us 100 percent from people/fans driving to tournament games with signs posted at the corporation limits saying ‘Last one out, shut the lights out.’ It was truly amazing and very much appreciated.”
