Flashes fall just short to Buckettes, 46-43

NEW WASHINGTON — Willard just wanted a chance. The Crimson Flashes never led in the second half but tied the game a handful of times in the final three minutes. Down three with 20 seconds to go, Willard had a shot at the buzzer, but the game-tying 3-pointer missed, allowing Buckeye Central to escape with a 46-43 non-league win Thursday. "On that last play, we got a shot at it," Willard coach Alanna Bedingfield said. "You can't fault the kids for missing a shot. It takes a lot of guts to take a game winner. She was open and she took it. We're proud of that effort. We got the shot we wanted." The Buckettes went up by three points when Neveah Metzger split two free throws with 23.6 seconds left. Willard (1-2) grabbed the rebound and called timeout with 19.4 seconds to go. Buckeye Central (3-1) played tight defense and forced the ball out of bounds with 16 seconds remaining. The Flashes then moved the ball up court. As the final seconds ticked away, BC used one of its fouls to give with 3.9 seconds left. With no timeouts, Willard had to improvise. The ball was inbounded and Caitlyn Weaver's good look hit the rim and off. "The big thing was we wanted to make sure they didn't get a 3 off and unfortunately they did," BC coach Phil Loy said. "I thought it would be better if we could get a foul or get the ball out of bounds or whatever we could do to get the clock stopped late. That way, it is harder to run something." Buckeye Central opened the second half with the first five points, but Willard took over from there. Daelynn Funk and Corrin Gettys each scored to get within 35-27. A bucket by Gettys got the Flashes back within six points after three quarters. It was Willard's defense that gave the offense a chance. The Buckettes went the final 6:13 of the quarter without a point. The Flashes also got four points from Reese Bedingfield early in the fourth quarter, slicing the deficit to 35-33. Metzger made two free throws to end the 9:27 scoreless drought for BC. Later, jumpers by Bedingfield and Weaver knotted the game at 39. Weaver's make was the start of an incredible 90 seconds between the two teams. Allison Wright answered down low on the other end for the Buckettes before Camryn Wiers tied the game at 41. Ella Collene pushed BC back ahead, but Wiers had the response again. Wright scored again to give Buckeye Central a 45-43 lead with 49 seconds to go. 90 seconds, six straight makes, no turnovers, and no whistles. "We came out with a different plan in the second half and they bought into it," Bedingfield said. "We did a good job of controlling their offense a whole lot better in the second half than the first. We overcame a 10-point deficit to tie it up several times. I'm proud of their effort. That takes a lot of grit and determination." Willard got off to a good start, racing out to leads of 8-1 and 12-4. The Flashes still led 14-8 after eight minutes, but Buckeye Central used aggressive play at the rim to ultimately surge ahead. The Buckettes got to the foul line 13 times in the second quarter alone - and 18 times in the first half. Willard watched as Buckeye Central used a 12-0 run over a 4:01 stretch to go up 28-18. BC was up 30-22 at halftime. "Things just didn't go our way tonight," Bedingfield. "Credit to Buckeye Central. They did a great job defensively. They crashed the boards hard and we struggled with that in the first half and got ourselves in a bit of trouble." Willard did not attempt a free throw until the third quarter and only had six tries on the night. "There's nothing you can do about what is happening on the court, but we did try to tell them to drive," Bedingfield said. "We needed to be the recipient of some of those. That's the only thing we can control." The Flashes played without their lone senior, Makinley Schaffer. Others stepped up for Willard. Bedingfield paced the Flashes with 12 points while Gettys tallied 10 points. Wiers added eight points and eight rebounds. "Corrin has really stepped up this week and has done a great job," Bedingfield said. "Some other girls that haven't gotten a ton of playing time - Emelia (Tallman) has done a great job of stepping up. It is nice to see those young players. They're buying in and they're stepping up and working hard." Willard 14-8-7-14 - 43Buckeye Central 8-22-5-11 - 46 Willard (1-2): 20-49 FG, 3-6 FT, 0-8 3pt, 29 rebounds (Wiers 8), 16 turnovers. Scoring: Camryn Wiers 4 0-0 8, Reese Bedingfield 5 2-3 12, Caitlyn Weaver 2 0-0 4, Corrin Gettys 5 0-0 10, Daelynn Funk 1 0-1 2, Emelia Tallman 3 1-2 7. Buckeye Central (3-1): 15-45 FG, 14-24 FT, 2-7 3pt (Metzger, Seifert), 36 rebounds (Metzger 6), 12 turnovers. Scoring: Mara McDougal 2 0-0 4, Ella Evak 3 2-2 8, Neveah Metzger 4 7-9 16, Aleyse Seifert 2 0-0 5, Macy Deppen 0 3-4 3, Allison Wright 2 1-5 5, Ella Collene 3 1-4 7.