Lady Bucks meet Lady Quakers in quarterfinal rematch
By Bees O’Brien
FARWELL- It’s been an incredible season for Bucktail’s Lady Bucks basketball team. Back in November the program was in doubt, but somehow head coach Suellen Wagner’s Lady Bucks have battled through the season and managed to win 8 games and lock down a seven seed in the upcoming District IV 1A playoffs.
They will meet Millville (13-8) the two seed on the road on Wednesday. Millville fell to the Lady Bucks in last year’s quarterfinals in Farwell, but the Lady Quakers already own a hard fought 49-40 victory over Bucktail earlier this season.
The Lady Bucks have been led by a dominant trio this season. Senior Matti Mason has been the heart and soul of a Bucktail team that wasn’t expected to be at 8 wins and gearing up for a playoff run. Mason is a scoring and defensive threat.
On the glass, Bucktail has the toughest duo in Kendall Wagner and Eva Sockman. Very few teams, including Millville can matchup with the pair of 500-rebounders. Both can score and Wagner is the team’s leading scorer.
Mason and Wagner are both dangerous outside shooters and if they plan on upsetting the Lady Quakers, they’ll need to hit some big shots.
Arionna Winkleman and Riley Sallizzoni have stepped up incredibly this season. Both have become reliable tools in the Lady Bucks attack. Miya Devlin and Adrielle Intallura have also been key components for Bucktail.
Millville will more than likely rely on their start Larissa Evans in the quarterfinals. Evans scored 25 of Millville’s 49 points in the first meeting between the two teams this season. Look for Bucktail to keep the pressure on the most dangerous scorer in the 1A bracket if they have any chance of advancing.
The winner of this game will meet the Benton and NP-Liberty winner in the semifinals. The other half of the bracket will see defending champions St. John Neumann traveling to Meadowbrook Christian in a rematch of last season’s title game. Top seeded Lourdes Regional will host Northumberland Christian in the final quarterfinal game in the District IV girls 1A field.
