No. 1 Buchanan survives battle from Bronson

For 32 minutes, Bronson gave No. 1 Buchanan hell on the basketball court. It was not the first time, but unfortunately for Bronson, it did end with the same result.

The top-ranked Bucks got everything they wanted and more. A couple of breaks their way helped them move on to the regional finals with a 66-59 win inside Centreville High School.

“It was not for lack of effort, I’m so proud of my team. They’ve (Buchanan) got so many ways to beat you,” Bronson coach Tony Lasky said. “We decided we were gonna let Faith (Carson) get her points and shut down everybody else. For the most part, we did a good job of that. We didn’t shut them all down, but that’s basketball. It just wasn’t our night.”

Carson, who is an Ohio State signee for next year, led all scorers with 35 points. Carson is one of five finalists for the 2023 Michigan Miss Basketball award, averaging a double-double for the Bucks all season and helping lead them to what is now 22 consecutive victories.

“That is a luxury that we have, having 54,” Buchanan coach Gabe Miller said. “But, it was definitely a team effort.”

Buchanan trailed Bronson in last year’s regional semifinals as well. That game was much lower-scoring with the Bucks eventually winning 45-37. Both Lasky and Miller said there were similarities to the two games. Bronson led early in both, but eventually Buchanan was able to grind it out and find a way to win.

Buchanan junior guard LaBria Austin was dealing with an injured ankle coming into the contest. She was testing it out prior to Tuesday’s game and eventually decided she could give it a go. With Austin on the floor Buchanan is solid with their pressure defense, causing turnovers.

“With LaBria not 100 percent, we still wanted to pressure them, but she wasn’t moving great early,” Miller said. “We were hesitant to do that and nothing was working and everything was working for them.”

Bronson jumped out of the gate all over Buchanan. The Vikings banked in a handful of 3-pointers in the first quarter, including two from Aubree Calloway and one from Haylie Wilson.

“We know 30 (Calloway) and 1 (Wilson) are tremendous players,” Miller said. “We had to try something, we’ve got a group that presses well and causes some chaos.”

Bronson’s lead was 11-3 early, this caused Miller to use a timeout to try and settle things down. It didn’t work initially with the Vikings continuing to get shots to fall. Calloway and Wilson each knocked down two more shots in the first, plus Brealyn Lasky hit a 3-pointer as well.

In total, Bronson scored 22 points in the first eight minutes. The lead was 22-10. But Buchanan did not panic and started to throw the ball into Carson enough so it made a difference. She scored 12 points in the second quarter, but was the only Buck to make a shot in the frame.

Bronson also battled some foul trouble in the first half. It changed the pace of the game at times and forced the Vikings to mix up their lineups on the floor.

“If we didn’t have foul trouble early on, when we were extending the game — who knows,” Lasky said.

Buchanan did get six additional free throws from a couple of players and trailed Bronson 37-28 at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Buchanan pressure caused Bronson to speed itself up at times, turning the basketball over too much.

“The main story was our execution against their pressure in that third quarter, it really fed them,” Lasky said. “It was more of us not being able to execute properly than anything special.”

Buchanan would get back in the game, and take the lead, as Carson and Austin combined to score 19 points in the third. As the game headed to the fourth quarter, Buchanan led 49-48.

But Bronson would trade the lead with Buchanan a couple of times in that fourth quarter. A bucket from Calloway at the 3:45 mark gave Bronson a 57-55 edge. Unfortunately for the Vikes, Buchanan would score 11 of the final 13 points in the game.

Offensive put-backs from Carson was a big part of Buchanan’s success. Lasky said the Vikings wanted to keep Buchanan below eight offensive rebounds in the game, and the total number was not concrete, but Lasky said he’d bet it was more than eight.

“They had more than enough and that was a big difference in the game,” he said. “They’re solid. But we had our opportunities tonight.”

Another big aspect of the game was free throws. Buchanan hit for 18-of-25, Bronson made just 6-of-8.

Bronson ends the season with a record of 20-4, with two of those losses coming to Buchanan.

Buchanan, now 22-1, will take on Kalamazoo Christian (22-3) in the regional finals on Thursday at Centreville. Christian beat Watervliet 60-51 in the first game held on Tuesday.

Carson led all scorers with 35 points, Austin threw in 18. They were the only significant offensive production for Buchanan in the game. Katie Ailes scored six points. Starters Alyssa Carson (three points) and both Maddie Young and Jillian McKean scored only two.

Wilson led Bronson with 20 points, Calloway added 19. Lasky finished with 11 points while Ava Hathaway totaled five, Payton Springstead scored four.

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: No. 1 Buchanan survives battle from Bronson