East Buchanan girls’ basketball secures school-record 18th victory

WINTHROP — Time will tell whether this is East Buchanan’s breakthrough season.

This is certain: It’s the winningest.

Lauren Donlea joined the 1,000-point club, and the 14th-ranked Buccaneers took control for keeps in the second quarter. They completed a hat trick against Central City, 56-45, in a Class 1A girls’ basketball regional quarterfinal Tuesday night at East Buchanan High School.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Donlea said after the Buccaneers secured their school-record 18th five-player victory (they are 18-5). “It all goes back to confidence, making that extra pass and having fun with it.”

A future player at Wartburg College, Donlea scored 20 points, boosting her career total to 1,009. She is the sixth East Buchanan five-on-five player to surpass the 1,000-point mark.

The Buccaneers advance to Friday’s regional semifinal, here against Elkader Central (19-4), a 49-40 victor over Turkey Valley. Two more wins — two more challenging wins — and they advance to state for the first time in school history.

“This team is awesome,” said junior Averiel Brady, who just missed a double-double (she registered 19 points and nine rebounds). “It’s like a big family. It’s really nice to have people who have your back all the time.”

The Bucs vanquished Central City (13-10) for the third time this season. Regular-season verdicts were 67-49 and 56-49.

“I knew it was going to be a grind,” East Buchanan Coach Nathan Reck said. “Central City is everything we can handle. They have an all-state player (in Sara Reid) and a supporting cast that can hit shots.

“We weren’t able to get a lot of steals off our press, but we executed our (half-court) offense.”

Central City led through the first 11 minutes, but East Buchanan closed the first half with a 17-7 push to take a 31-24 advantage into the locker room.

The Wildcats scored the first five points of the second half to close within 31-29, then the Bucs answered with the next 10, and led by at least eight points the rest of the way.

Reid paced Central City with 17 points, just four after halftime. She is the school’s all-time leading scorer.

“Coach told us to face-guard her and make her force shots,” said Donlea, as a series of young fans requested her signature on their white towels.

Bailee Weber added 10 points for Central City. The Wildcats committed 20 turnovers, compared to nine for the Buccaneers.

East Buchanan 56, Central City 45

Class 1A Regional Quarterfinal, at Winthrop

CENTRAL CITY (45): Natalie Noonan 2-9 0-0 4, Hannah Kramer 2-4 1-2 5, Brylea Brooks 3-10 0-0 9, Bailee Weber 4-6 2-3 10, Sara Reid 7-14 2-4 17, Colleta Wade 0-1 0-0 0, Isabell Whitson 0-0 0-0 0, Lucy Smith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-44 5-9 45.

EAST BUCHANAN (56): Lacy Anderegg 1-2 0-0 3, Lauren Donlea 7-24 5-6 20, Laynee Hogan 3-5 0-0 7, Averiel Brady 7-19 5-6 19, Eden Brady 2-5 0-0 4, Kyara Pals 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-57 10-12 56.

Central City 15 9 13 8 — 45

East Buchanan 12 19 16 9 — 56

3-point goals: Central City 4-18 (Kramer 0-2, Brooks 3-9, Weber 0-1, Reid 1-6), East Buchanan 4-13 (Anderegg 1-2, Donlea 1-7, Hogan 1-1, Fox 1-1, A. Brady 0-1, E. Brady 0-1). Team fouls: Central City 11, East Buchanan 10. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Central City 34 (Noonan 11), East Buchanan 30 (A. Brady 9). Assists: Central City 12 (Reid 5), East Buchanan 6 (Anderegg, Donlea, Fox 2). Steals: Central City 3 (Reid 2), East Buchanan 10 (Donlea, Hogan 3). Turnovers: Central City 20, East Buchanan 9.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com