OLD WASHINGTON — After losing the first meeting by a staggering 24 points, the host Buckeye Trail Lady Warriors were able to get revenge on their ex-Pioneer Valley Conference rival, Shenandoah High, with a convincing 53-32 victory on Friday to launch a girls/boys doubleheader.
Buckeye Trail coach Chris Starr was pleased with his squad’s play this time around and talked about the significance of the victory.
"This was a really big game for us," offered Starr. "For us to have a chance in the OVAC, we had to win tonight and the girls knew that. Our girls wanted this game bad. Defensively, we are playing much better than at the beginning of the season."
On the other side, Coach Sean Beskid’s Lady Zeps, who fell to 10-4 on the season, could not get much going on either side of the court.
"That was bad," admitted Beskid. "In every aspect of the game, Trail dominated us and we just didn’t show up tonight. I don’t think we ever got winded, so conditioning wasn’t a problem. We just didn’t guard them at all and didn’t set screens on offense."
The Lady Warriors jumped ahead early, posting a 16-5 first-quarter scoring edge paced by Sam Canner, who recorded 10 points in the opening eight minutes, and BTHS carried a 25-14 lead into halftime.
Trail proceeded to outscore Shenandoah 14-8 in the third quarter and 14-10 in the fourth quarter to claim the victory and improve to 9-3 on the year.
"We couldn’t get going on offense," said Beskid. "Buckeye Trail is one of the best defensive teams around and always has been, and we just couldn’t get anybody open because we weren’t setting screens."
Canner dominated in the "paint" for the Lady Warriors, tallying a game-high 26 points and six rebounds.
"We are improving," offered Starr. "Our inside game has gotten a lot better and Sam has continued to get better as the year goes on. She is doing a much better job at posting up and the girls are doing a better job at looking for her. When you have Sam and Jenni (Carmichael) both in the paint, the other team can only focus on one and tonight Sam was able to have the big game."
Following up Canner’s output was Ashleigh Wheeler with 14 points while Hannah Smith added nine points, four rebounds and six assists.
For the Lady Zeps, Taylor Franklin led the way with a team-best 12 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block while Jacie Clifton added nine counters, four rebounds and a pair of steals.
NEXT — Shenandoah travels to Caldwell for PVC rivalry game on Monday at 6 p.m. while Buckeye Trail will get back to IVC play on Wednesday when it treks to Gnadenhutten to take on Indian Valley at 6 p.m.