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CONNORVILLE--Buckeye overcame not only a hot-shooting start from Edison but a bout with turnovers thanks to a Wildcats' diamond press that gave the Panthers third-quarter fits.
But led by seniors Brynn McKeever and Pam Kandrach, the Panthers persevered and held on for a 64-58 sectional victory Wednesday evening in Connorville.
The result has head coach Bailey McBeth's club heading to Zoarville on Saturday for a meeting with No. 2 seed Tuscarawas Valley (19-3).
"We had a key run there in the second quarter, but their press threw us off a bit and we turned it over," McBeth said after his team improved to 13-10 and earned a cherished postseason victory in McBeth's first season at the helm. "Once we settled down, we were able to break it down."
Buckeye finally figured it out and what once caused turnovers started leading to numerous easy transition buckets at the opposite end.
Kandrach accounted for six points in the third quarter from those transition buckets.
But before Buckeye could tackle that obstacle, it had to fight back against a 13-11 deficit after the first quarter.
Abigail Boka scored five of her six in the first quarter for Edison and Sophia Henderson, who finished with a game-high 28 points, scored six early.
Edison seemed to hit every shot early, which allowed the visitors to take the early lead.
A key series in the second quarter helped Buckeye get on the positive side of the scoreboard.
The first defining moment? A McKeever putback that came on the fourth offensive rebound on that particular possession. Second-shot opportunities are a no-no on defense, but a fifth-shot hurt. Buckeye took the lead, but Henderson answered with a three-pointer.
On the opposite end, Alyssa Dailey responded with a 3-pointer from the top of the circle. After Maddy Roset forced a turnover at mid-court, Dailey snagged the missed shot and stuck a short jumper for the putback. Those were her only five points, but that came at a critical juncture.
Roset, meanwhile, finished with perhaps her best game of the season, totaling 13 points in an all-around solid effort.
"Maddy probably had her best game of the season, not just offense, but also defense, rebounding, she really stepped it up," McBeth said. "Alyssa also played great. We got contributions from everyone that played."
Buckeye actually got up by double digits in the second half before Edison decided to switch things up.
"They got up like 14 points and my assistants were like we need to do something, so we put that diamond press on," Edison head coach Mark Smyth said. "We made the switch, then Sophia got hot and Pressley (Meadows) and Rebecka (Evans) got hot and we were able to cut it down to four."
Next up for the Panthers is a meeting with the Trojans on Saturday afternoon. McBeth's had a chance to see some film on Tusky Valley, and he knows his team will need to be prepared for the Trojans' press.
It's similar to Indian Creek's, one that Buckeye struggled with during the OVAC Class 4A championship game a few weeks ago.
There's also another story line. McKeever was recently voted as District 5's Co-Player of the Year. The opposite district POY? She resides in the Trojans' lineup.
"Their press is pretty similar to Creek's so as a coach, we have to try to get ready for that," McBeth said. "I'm sure they watched the Creek film, so if they can press and force turnovers, it'll be a long game."
Edison finishes the season with a 13-10 record.
While Henderson, Boka and Kylee Stull from the starting lineup return, the Wildcats will lose the services of their two starting post players in Meadows and Evans, along with fellow senior Emma Loprete.
Evans finished with 11 to back Henderson while Meadows added 10.
"Our girls are resilient and they played hard right up until the end," Smyth said. "And I'm proud of how much we've improved. When we played Buckeye to start the year, we lost 51-28 and we had trouble even getting the ball up the floor against them.
"We made a big improvement throughout the year."