Waterford advances to state finals with resounding victory over Buckeye Central
By: Dylan Westmeyer, Grayson Wolf, Tanner Watts
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DAYTON, Ohio (WOUB) — The Waterford Wildcats came into the state semi final as the fifth ranked team in the state and were going up against the fourth ranked team in the state Buckeye Central Buckettes.
Waterford Wildcats center Avery Wagner game out the gates on a mission picking up offensive boards and putting in easy buckets ending the quarter with 6 points along with 2 offensive rebounds leading the Wildcats to a 12-10 lead at the end of the first.
Buckeye Central was able to keep their steady offense up in the second quarter as it ran through Senior Claudia Pifher and Emily Siesel who combined for 11 points, 7 rebounds, and two assists. The Buckettes were able to settle into their defense and completely shut down the Wildcats offense leading to 4 turnovers and limiting the scoring to a measly 5 points.
Buckeye Central went into the half up 23-17. Out of the half it seemed as though the Buckettes were going to carry the momentum they created in the first with a quick three Sydney Wurm. On the contrary though this completely ignited the Wildcats. They then went on a 12-2 run thanks to the defense and shot making forcing Buckeye Central to call a timeout.
This timeout did not help though as Waterford was able to go on a 9-2 after the time out to take a 38-30 lead. The two runs were led by the big three of Cara Taylor who had 9 points and three steals, Mackenzie Suprano who had 8 points and 2 rebounds and their defensive anchor Avery Wagner who had 4 points, 4 rebounds, and three monster blocks.
Buckeye Central fought back in the final quarter bringing the Wildcats lead to just six points but were completely put away when Kendall Sury came off the bench and made three contested layups to put the game out of reach.
The game ended with a final score of Waterford 53, Buckeye Central 39.
Cara Taylor ended the game with 13 points 7 of which came from the free throw line, 2 assists, and 6 steals. Mackenzie Suprano ended with 13 points all in the second half 6 rebounds, and 2 assists. Lastly, Avery Wagner ended with 12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks, and a steal.
The Lady Wildcats take on New Knoxville who are the third in the state and only give up on average 26 points a game. If Waterford wants to become the state champions they will need their offense to click like it did in the third quarter. The Wildcats take on the New Knoxville Rangers in Dayton tomorrow at 5:15.