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Holzopfel lifts Panthers in Edison

RICHMOND — The shots were dropping for the Buckeye Local girls basketball team, and that spelled trouble for Edison.

The Panthers scored at least 20 points in three quarters, and they finished the night with 32 field goals, en route to defeating the Wildcats, 75-35, in a match-up of Buckeye 8 North Division and Jefferson County rivals Thursday night.

“This was one of the best shooting games we have had,” Buckeye Local (7-2) head coach Tom Figurski said. “We had five or six, or maybe even seven, people hit outside shots. The drive will always be there. Teams have defended us by playing zone, and we have been coming up short or just missing shots from the outside. This was our best shooting night.”

Senior standout Emily Holzopfel led the way for Buckeye Local with a game-high 30 points to go along with 14 rebounds and five assists. Aliare Destifanes delivered 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists, while Megan Valuska tallied 10 points.

“She’s good,” Edison (1-10) head coach Jeff Stone said about Holzopfel. “There is no doubt about it. The other one (Destifanes), she’s also a good player. They play well together. They feed off each other. It is tough when they have two players like that.

“We are young. We are still learning to play man-to-man defense. We are not great at it. There were too many lanes. These girls don’t quit. We are going to keep trying. We are going to continue to push. We are going to keep working on our offense. Offensively, we are averaging in the high 30s. We just don’t shoot well from the outside.”

Holzopfel scored 17 points in the first half and 13 in the second despite not playing at 100 percent.

“She is playing at about 80 percent,” Figurski said. “Everybody knows it, but she is going to give you everything she has got. We have her and Alaire. Tonight, we had two more girls step up offensively for us. Demetria Christian and Megan Valuska hit some outside outside shots. That was one of Megan’s better nights shooting from the outside. She shot the ball well. Tonight, we had those four. When we have two players helping Emily and Alaire, it is a lot of fun to watch.”

Lauren Ferralli finished with a team-high 13 points to lead the way for the Wildcats. Ashley Grafton was second on the team with six.

“Buckeye Local is a good team,” Stone said. “I have got nothing negative to say about them. They are a good team. They are well-coached. They play good, solid defense. They have Emily and Alaire. It’s pick your poison. If you try to play them on the outside, they can take the ball to the basket. If you try to play zone, they can hit from the outside.

“It takes time. We are still learning to play aggressive man-to-man defense. There were a lot of gaps tonight. Buckeye hustles. They get after loose balls. We were out of position tonight.”

The Wildcats put up a fight, but they were unable to contain the Panthers once they got rolling.

The Panthers got off to a good start, as they built a 20-10 advantage at the end of the first quarter. The victors extended their advantage to 40-18 at halftime.

The Wildcats outscored the Panthers, 13-12, in the third to make the score 52-31 entering the fourth. Buckeye Local outscored Edison, 23-4, in the fourth.

“We always put a lot of time and effort into our shooting,” Figurski said. “Our focus has been more on our defense. One of the things we have worked on is, in the Indian Creek game, they outrebounded us by 23. We have made some adjustments. Tonight, we were able to minimize Edison’s big girl.”

Edison is scheduled to play Toronto Saturday at home. The JV game is scheduled to start at 2 p.m.

“Toronto is Toronto,” Stone said. “You know what you are going to get from Rusty. They are going to pressure you. They are going to play solid man-to-man defense. They can drive the lane and score, or they can drive the ball and kick it to the outside for a shot.”

Buckeye Local is slated to play East Liverpool Monday at home.

GAME NOTES

¯ Buckeye Local won the JV game, 29-15. Landyn Walker tallied a game-high 17 points to lead the Panthers. Trista Furbeen finished with six to lead the Wildcats.

Buckeye Local 75, Edison 35

Buckeye Local 20-20-12-23 — 75

Edison 10-8-13-4 — 35

BUCKEYE LOCAL (7-2): Christian 3 0-0 6; Carpico 0 0-0 0; Henry 0 0-0 0; Roski 1 1-2 3; Sebring 3 2-2 8; Valuska 5 0-0 10; Holzopfel 13 2-2 30; Donley 0 0-0 0; Crain 0 0-0 0; Walker 0 0-0 0; Destifanes 6 2-4 15; George 1 0-0 3. TOTALS: 32, 7-10: 75.

EDISON (1-10): Petrikso 2 0-0 4; Fiedorczyk 1 0-1 3; Murphey 0 0-0 0; Potkrajac 2 1-4 5; Meadows 0 0-2 0; Grafton 2 2-3 6; Ferralli 5 2-6 13; Montgomery 0 0-0 0; Scott 0 1-3 1; Keenan 1 1-2 3. TOTALS: 13, 7-21: 35.

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