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BY JOSEPHINE REYNOLDS
The Buckeye Bucks (4-10-0) put up a good fight against the Lutheran West Longhorns (10-4-0), however the Bucks came up short losing to the Longhorns 61-59.
This nail-biter of a game went back and forth throughout all four periods. The Bucks had a strong start to the game in the first quarter leading 4-0. Although, shortly after the lead diminished as Lutheran West senior, Aliciana Medina scored a two-pointer alongside some foul shots ending up with the Longhorns in the lead for the first time at 5-4. As the first quarter continued on, the lead switched on and off between the two teams. Ava Wolf, a sophomore on the Buckeye Bucks, was able to snag a two-pointer towards the end of the first quarter in order to bring the lead back to the Bucks at 8-7.
Close to the beginning of the second quarter, the Longhorns and the Bucks were tied yet again. Star senior Maddie Kandrach of the Longhorns, was able to break that tie with a two pointer bringing the score back up in favor of the Longhorns at 13-11.
Another notable star of this quarter was Carlie Gunkelman, sophomore on the Buckeye Bucks. She was a high scorer of the game with eight points in total, and two of those points were awarded in the second quarter. Wolf scored two more points tallying up to a total of four points scored during the game for her.
Ava Piovarchy, sophomore on the Buckeye Bucks, played good defense throughout the first half. She started her tally of ten points with a two pointer late in the second quarter tying up the game once more at 19-19. The Bucks finished off the first half strong, and went into half-time leading 23-19.
The second half brought more exciting plays, and even more baskets. Again, the score was close throughout the third quarter leaving fate to decide what happened. The third quarter also brought the biggest lead in the game so far, with the Bucks at 31, and the Longhorns at 26. Freshman Kendyl Dukarm of the Bucks, was able to snag four out of her eight points total during the quarter. Those points helped keep the Bucks in the lead at 40-37 as they headed into the final quarter.
The Longhorns started the fourth quarter in a tremendous way. Addy Esposito, sophomore for the Longhorns, shot a three pointer right at the beginning of the quarter. That wasn’t all Esposito did. With a total of 16 points, 15 of those were scored in the fourth quarter alone.
Aliciana Medina started scoring more points this quarter, as well. Medina, a true star for Lutheran West, was the highest scoring player of the game with a total of 22 points. The Bucks unfortunately could not keep up defensively with the great offensive push the Longhorns had within the fourth quarter. The Bucks did try, but ultimately came up short of the victory.
The Bucks get another home game against Bay High School on January 21, 2026 at 7:00PM. The Longhorns next game is also at home against the Harvey Red Raiders on January 21, 2026 at 7:00PM.
