Hardwood Heroes
Nelsonville-York Lady Buckeyes take down Southeastern in semifinal
By: Vernon Eguakun
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Athens Ohio, (WOUB) – The Nelsonville-York Lady Buckeyes defeated the Southeastern Panthers 60-44 in the district semifinal.
The Buckeyes started this game off scrappy on defense as Brooklyn Richards got a steal and converted at the other end giving Nelsonville-York an early 10-6 lead then on the next offensive possession Cayleigh Dupler hit a three extending the Buckeye lead. The Panthers would answer back as point guard Gabby Pernell hit a deep 3. With just 4 seconds remaining in the 1st quarter Cayleigh Dupler would hit another 3 giving the lady buckeyes a 16-9 at the end of the quarter.
The 2nd quarter saw both teams playing intensely as Southeastern were able to cut the lead to two as Gabby Pernell continued his big shots down the stretch. The Buckeyes continued to lean on forward Airah Lavy as she would continue to create shots for herself and others. Lavy would drive to the rim and hit a layup with just 4 seconds remaining giving Nelsonville-York a 28-23 lead at half.
In the third quarter the Buckeyes would dominate due to their stellar defense which only allowed five points in the quarter. On the offensive end Nelsonville-York forward Brooklyn Richards would dominate the glass getting multiple offensive rebounds which led to second chance points. The Buckeyes would put up 23 points in the quarter giving them a 51-28 lead entering the fourth.
The fourth quarter would see the Buckeyes would close out the game advancing to the district final against the Wheelersburg Pirates on Saturday.
Buckeyes coach Mark Truax gave his thoughts on the preparation for Wheelersburg.
“At this time of the year you play great teams, and they got a history and we will give them their respect and we will come out and give them our best shot”