BUCYRUS — The Lady Redmen used a big punch early on to defeat Galion on Wednesday night.
“They are physical, a lot more physical than we were. Not that we don’t see that, but I don’t know if were expecting it as much,” Galion head coach Shani Rush said.
Bucyrus (3-16, 0-12 Northern 10) was paced by sophomore Emma Tyrrell, who scored a game-high 15 points. Junior Madalyn Kimmel added 12 points and senior Karmyn Blizzard scored eight.
“We knew that they were scrappy. They are a scrappy and hardworking team. Emma Tyrrell and Kimmel are good players,” Rush said.
Despite the loss, Galion (5-14, 1-10 Mid Ohio Athletic Conference) received 15 points from senior Natalee Perkins.
Fellow senior Teanna Greter added 12 points for the Tigers and Dezi Lester scored nine points. Freshman Cameron Eckert rounded out the scoring with eight points.
If you are a fan of offense, you will like what Bucyrus put on display. The Redmen zoomed out of of the gates and led 19-8 after a quarter of action. Tyrrell got hot early, scoring nine of her 15 points in the first eight minutes.
However, Galion would show some toughness and battle back to take a halftime lead. The Tigers went into intermission leading 24-23. Eckert did her damage in the second quarter by scoring six of her eight points. Galion’s freshman knocked down 3-of-4 free-throws in all.
“I thought we put a good second quarter effort in, but after that they just outplayed us,” Rush spoke.
Bucyrus was able to come out of halftime and outscore Galion 17-11. Lady Redmen had a balanced effort in the quarter, as six players would put the ball through the hoop. Galion would trail Bucyrus 40-35 after three quarters of play.
When the Tigers needed offense in the fourth quarter, they just were not able to get it. Galion scored just three baskets in the final period, which were all triples. Perkins netted two of her own and Greter knocked in one.
Tyrrell did damage in the final quarter, much like the first. The sophomore scored three baskets for six points in the fourth quarter.
Galion is a program without a junior varsity team, and has a limited bench. It hurt the Tigers in this one.
“That has kind of been our problem all year. We play five girls and I ask a lot from them. They do show good grit and I know it is hard,” Rush said.
Phynix Cole was the lone reserve to play for the Tigers.
Bucyrus held the rebounding edge over Galion 53-38. Th Redmen did a lot of their damage on the offensive boards.
“It was all effort. I told them they wanted it more. You could tell at the end they were just out-rebounding us,” Rush said.
Galion hit on eight three-pointers, compared to four for Bucyrus.
The Tigers will finish out the season with a couple of MOAC games before their tournament game. Galion has Pleasant and River Valley left on the schedule.
