Girls Basketball: Foul trouble costly for Elyria in loss to Buckeye

ELYRIA — It was a foul-filled first half for Elyria in its non-league game with Buckeye Wednesday. The Pioneers lost post Alexis Luckey in the first quarter and guard KaMariana Scott early in the second and were left chasing the remainder of the game in a 62-36 loss. When Luckey (six points, six rebounds, three blocks) picked up her second foul in the first quarter it opened up the interior of the Pioneers' (3-18) defense and Buckeye (8-13) took advantage. "It was pretty tough because Lex is the only height that we have," Scott said. "She's a brick wall in the paint for us." Scott (16 points, nine rebounds, two assists) kept her team in the game, initially scoring six points and assisting on another basket to keep Elyria close at 13-11 after one quarter. Triples from Scott and Arabella Sauer (six points, three rebounds) tied the game at 17 with 5:15 left in the half, then Scott picked up her third. Buckeye closed the half on an 11-1 run to enter the locker room with a 28-18 lead. Kaidyn Dechant (five points, three rebounds) had the Pioneers' only point during the run when she split a pair of free throws. Scott and Luckey returned in the third quarter and helped Elyria rally to within 31-29 with an 11-3 start to the second half. "We were moving the ball more," Scott said. "We were doing more than just passing it and shooting it." Luckey had four points during the closing stretch, and Scott had a pair. Elyria also got a big 3-pointer from Brooklyn Cruz. Buckeye answered by scoring the next 10 points of the game, and the Pioneers never got the deficit under 10 the rest of the game. "We were communicating better," Sauer said. "We were talking better. In the second half we weren't doing it as well." The Bucks attempted 26 free throws to just 12 for Elyria and eight of those came from the right hand of Scott who kept driving in the paint and did a good job finishing out drawing contact and getting to the line. The Pioneers lost the rebounding battle 40-30, but Scott and reserve Emma Edwards (six rebounds) did a solid job against the taller Bucks. Buckeye was led by sophomore Ava Wolf who had 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists, and reserve Molly Danilovic, who turned in 12 points and six rebounds. Buckeye 62, Elyria 36 Buckeye 13 15 17 17 — 62Elyria &emsp;&emsp; 11 7 13 5 — 36 BUCKEYE: Ava Piovarchy 4-1-9, Carlie Gunkelman 4-0-8, Ava Wolf 4-6-16, Juliana Melillo 1-2-4, Brooklyn Diegidio 0-3-3, Molly Danilovic 6-0-12, Rosie Weckesser 3-1-7, Kylee Kash 1-0-2, Lindsay Kutz 0-1-1. Totals: 23-14-62. ELYRIA: Arabella Sauer 2-0-6, Kyrah Boddy 0-0-0, Alexis Luckey 3-0-6, Alyce Muniz 0-0-0, KaMariana Scott 5-5-16, Kaidyn Dechant 2-1-5, Brooklyn Cruz 1-0-3, Emma Edwards 0-0-0, Nalani Vinovich 0-0-0, Layana Pinkston 0-0-0, Cadence Niemeyer 0-0-0, Armanni Garrett 0-0-0. Totals: 13-6-36. 3-point goals — Wolf 2, Sauer 2, Cruz. Rebounds — Buckeye 40 (Wolf 9), Elyria 30 (Scott 9). Assists — Buckeye 14 (Diegidio 6), Elyria 3 (Scott 2).