COLUMBUS — The Buckeye Central girls basketball season ended at the Final Four on Thursday afternoon, to the same team that stopped last year’s tournament run in the Elite Eight.

  • IMG_0349.JPG
  • IMG_0368.JPG
  • IMG_0394.JPG

  • Ottoville’s Kasey Knippen floats above the Buckeye Central Buckettes defense for a second quarter shot attempt.

  • IMG_0468.JPG
  • IMG_0550.JPG
  • IMG_0551.JPG
  • IMG_0558.JPG
  • IMG_0563.JPG
  • IMG_0571.JPG
  • IMG_0651.JPG
  • IMG_0637.JPG

  • Buckeye Central’s Courtney Pifher goes up for a shot during last year’s Division IV state semifinal game against Ottoville.

  • IMG_0624.JPG
  • IMG_0623.JPG

  • Buckeye Central point guard Jenna Karl directs a play from the top of the key in the Division IV state semifinals against Ottoville.

  • IMG_0604.JPG
  • IMG_0670.JPG
  • IMG_0663.JPG
  • IMG_0612.JPG
  • IMG_0594.JPG
  • IMG_0581.JPG
  • IMG_0559.JPG
  • IMG_0543.JPG
  • IMG_0539.JPG
  • IMG_0519.JPG
  • IMG_0512.JPG
  • IMG_0507.JPG
  • IMG_0475.JPG
  • IMG_0467.JPG
  • IMG_0462.JPG
  • IMG_0458.JPG
  • IMG_0451.JPG
  • IMG_0438.JPG
  • IMG_0378.JPG
  • IMG_0339.JPG

The Buckettes lost to second-ranked Ottoville 44-25 at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus during a Division IV state semifinal game. A year ago the Big Green stopped B.C. in the regional finals, 52-36.

“Ottoville is a great, great program,” Buckeye Central coach Greg Moore said. “Dave (Kleman) is a great guy and they’ve just got great basketball there, have had it there for a while and I wish them well.”

The Big Green (27-2) advanced to Saturday morning’s Division I state championship game against fourth-ranked Minster (25-3), which upset No. 1 Waterford 46-31.

Meanwhile, Buckeye Central’s season ends with a 26-2 record.

“I’m just very proud of our kids,” Moore said. “I think there were some things we could’ve done, wish we had done differently, but I told the kids you can’t be hesitant, you can’t go back.”

Ottoville embodied that philosophy from the jump. Sporting a size advantage at virtually every position, the Big Green opened a 12-7 first-quarter lead and expanded the advantage to 23-12 at halftime.

“I thought we played extremely hard defensively, like we have all year,” Kleman said. “We share the ball but defense again was the key for us to winning that ballgame.”

The Buckettes never really got untracked. B.C. made just 10 of 27 shots in the game. The Big Green owned a 27-17 rebounding bulge and forced B.C. into 17 turnovers, while they suffered only 7.

With those numbers trending steadily throughout the game, Ottoville goosed the margin to 36-20 after three quarters and coasted home.

Buckeye Central senior Jenna Karl scored 15 points, but no one else had more than four. Honorable-mention All-Ohioan Courtney Pifher was limited to three points and just one field goal.

“I was talking to two people I respect very highly at the N10 banquet in Upper Sandusky, Amy Taylor and Kyle Fenner and they said (Karl) is probably the best athlete they’ve seen overall that’s come through Crawford County,” Moore said. “She’s a pleasure to coach.

“You miss every senior but she’s just a special, special kid, to have 1,500 points, 800 rebounds, 600 assists, 250 steals. Wow. She’s done everything, just remarkable.”

Ottoville’s 6-foot senior Bridget Landin showed why she was a first-team All-Ohioan. She poured in 21 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and controlled the lane.

Buckeye Central saw its 21-game winning streak snapped, but could take solace in reaching the state tournament for the sixth time in school history — and the first time in 26 years.

“From where we were five years ago, when I took over I think we had four wins the year before and now Jenna is part of a senior class that’s leaving that has 74 wins,” Moore said. “We’re going to miss those seniors.”