It’s deja vu for the Lady Bucks and Lady Quakers in quarterfinals
By Bees O’Brien
FARWELL- Bucktail and Millville locked horns less than a week ago in Farwell. On Tuesday it’ll be a case of deja vu when the two teams meet in the PIAA District IV 1A girls quarterfinals. Bucktail dominated the second half of that game to pick up a convincing 54-38 victory, but every game is different and first-year coach Suellen Wagner will be sure to keep her squad’s heads on straight and not let last Wednesday’s big win give them a false sense of overconfidence. Bucktail is currently 13-9, while Millville is 11-12.
How They Got Here
Bucktail has been one of the hottest teams in the bracket as of late. The Lady Bucks have won 9 of their last 12 games, with their only losses coming to Meadowbrook Christian, St. John Neumann and Muncy. All three contests were very competitive. Bucktail has collected some impressive victories, including two wins against playoff bound Austin. Wins over Northwest, South Williamsport, Millville and a pair of victories against playoff contenders Benton have helped the Lady Bucks secure their first home court game since the Maria Morgan era in 2015. Bucktail has never advanced to a state playoff game, with 2009 being their best finish of fourth. Their quarterfinal win over Cowanesque Valley that season remains their only playoff victory in program history.
Millville can not be taken lightly by any means. The Lady Quakers are as legit as they come. Victories over Norry Christian, Benton on two occasions, NP-Liberty and Northwest are all impressive. It was a good enough season to see the Lady Quakers capture the MPC East Division.
Key Players
The Wagner sisters are the bread and butter of the Lady Bucks. Mak Wagner has been amongst the district leaders in scoring all season and smoked Millville for 20 points in the season finale. Sister Kendall is one of the best post players in the entire Mid Penn Conference. She’s collected 8 double-doubles and leads Bucktail in total rebounds. She scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against Millville last week.
Matti Mason continues to improve and has become a top performer on this team. Mason is constantly forgotten by opposing teams that are focused on stopping Mak Wagner’s offensive skills, which allows for Mason to get plenty of open looks.
Eva Sockman and Alexis Lowery are rebounding machines and have reached double digits multiple times on the glass. Their presence could alter this game big time for Bucktail.
Sophomore Lola English has quietly become a dangerous weapon for Bucktail. English’s defense was key in reversing the Lady Bucks fortunes last week against Millville. English also netted 5 points in the game during Bucktail’s critical mid-game run.
For Millville, it’s been the Larissa Evans show all season long. Evans leads her team in scoring and is an aggressive threat for Millville. Evans scored 27 when the two met last week. If Bucktail can contain her, they should be able to stretch a lead early.
The Rest Of The Field
If Bucktail survives Millville, they will more than likely get a rematch with Meadowbrook Christian (19-1) in the semifinals. The top-seeded Lady Lions will meet NP-Liberty (8-14) in the quarterfinals.
Mid Penn Conference champions St. John Neumann (19-3) drew the two seed and will meet a pesky Benton (10-12) squad in their quarterfinal matchup. The winner of that contest will get either tournament favorite Lourdes Regional (14-8) or Juniata Christian (8-9).
The Bucktail/Millville game will be live audio streamed on The Record Online starting at 6pm.
