WILLARD — Buckeye Central might be the best-kept secret in Ohio girls basketball. If so, their undercover season is about to be blown.
Somehow, the Buckettes have compiled a 24-1 record without cracking the state rankings. But coach Greg Moore’s team is in the Division IV Sweet 16 after a convincing 66-43 district championship victory over Lucas.
“These kids have bought into what we’re selling, we’ve just got to keep it going,” Moore said.
The New Washington community has bought in, too. A sea of red supported B.C. from the opening tip, and they had a lot to cheer about. Buckeye Central broke to an 8-0 lead before Lucas coach Kathy Grover could get a timeout to settle her young squad. They responded, too, slicing the Buckettes’ margin to 15-13.
“I think we woke up a little bit there,” Grover said. “They’re not the No. 1 seed for nothing. But when you have a young team, it’s not going to be all puppies and sunshine.”
The Cubs played hard, but they were simply overmatched. When B.C. broke off another spurt, finishing the first quarter with a 24-14 margin, the game was never close again.
Instead, Buckeye Central senior Jenna Karl’s assault on the school’s record book took center stage. In this game Karl drained four treys to fuel her game-high 22-point performance, to go along with 8 rebounds, 8 steals, 6 assists and 2 blocks.
In the process the 5-foot-8 senior set the school’s single-season and career record for 3-pointers made. While she was already Buckeye Central’s career girls scoring leader, she also eclipsed overall point king Brett Kaple, a star on the boys’ side from the 1990s.
“If she’s not first-team All-Ohio there is something wrong,” Moore said.
Buckeye Central opened the advantage to 43-23 at the half and it was 60-35 heading to the final eight minutes.
“They have great pressure and Karl is a great athlete,” Grover said. “We want to be as good as them. It’s in our future, but we have to work for it.”
Lucas, got 17 points and 5 rebounds from sophomore Jessie Grover and 9 points from junior Ashley Robertson.
B.C. freshman Taylor Ratliff contributed 16 points and junior Courtney Pifher added 15.
The Buckettes earned a regional date on Thursday at 6:15 p.m. against ninth-ranked Cornerstone Christian (19-5) at Massillon Perry High School.
“I told Coach Moore I hope I see them March 15 (at the Final Four), they are that good,” coach Grover said.
The Cubs (17-9) had no seniors and were just the sixth seed in the district, yet pulled a pair of upset to earn their first sectional championship in more than 25 years.
“Kathy is doing a great job with that program,” Moore said. “Her daughter’s a great athlete, too.”
