KEVIN RAUCH/For the Express Meadowbrook Christian's Grace Ask blocks a Kelsie Wagner shot attempt as the Lions used a stifling defense to pick up a first-round playoff win over Bucktail on Wednesday night in Farwell. The Lions won 46-35.

FARWELL – A heartbreaking loss in the opening round of the District 4 Class A playoffs for the Bucktail girls had Meadowbrook Christian picking up a 46-35 road win on Wednesday night, as the No. 5 seeded Lions ended the No. 4 seeded Bucks’ season.

It was one of those losses that very few Bucktail players or fans have no doubt that they could have won had they played their best of games. But in the end, it was Maddy Fasnacht’s 21-point night that helped to take down the home team.

“I really feel that we switched some things up tonight, we played really good defense, but in the end, they just didn’t miss when they needed to make their shots and things kind of went the opposite way for us” Bucktail coach Suellen Wagner said after the loss.

Meadowbrook beat Bucktail on the same court a little over a month ago, 39-23, and this game was quite different to that lopsided contest. The Bucktail improvements were obvious on both ends of the courts, but clutch shooting by the Lions decided the outcome.

The score was tied 7-7 after the first quarter in front of an estimated 200 enthusiastic fans, with 110 tickets pre-sold and another 100 at the door.

Kendall Wagner gave what proved to be Bucktail’s final lead of the night when she hit a three-point shot that put her team up 10-7 early in the second quarter. The Lions would respond with their best run of the night, an 8-0 streak that put them up 15-10 just a little over two minutes later.

That became the theme of the game for the rest of the evening. Bucktail’s Arionna Winkelman scored on two straight possessions for the Bucks, but Meadowbrook started to snipe threes at the other end. A pair of long balls by Fasnacht and one each from Kaylee Ward and Lauren Dugan had the visitors up 23-16 at the break.

Also starting to play out was the absolutely smothering defense that the Lions were putting on Bucktail freshman Kelsie Wagner. They would hold the freshman phenom to four points all evening.

The third and fourth quarters were more of the same, Meadowbrook being able to answer every Bucktail offensive effort as they led 36-31 with 2:30 left, when they started to play keep away, forcing the Bucks to foul Fasnacht repeatedly.

Fasnacht would nail 7-of-8 free throws in the final two minutes. Kendall Wagner and Winkleman made Bucktail’s only two shots that they took in the remaining three minutes of the game, but it had gotten away from Bucktail at that point.

“I honestly still look at this season over all with a lot of positives, despite how this turned out tonight” Wagner said, saddened by the loss but appreciative of her team’s season. “We had a home playoff game, Kelise and Kendall each scored over 300 points, Eva finished just shy (280) of 300 rebounds on the season, we had some good things happen”.

Wagner also acknowledged the “big shoes to fill” that seniors Kendall Wagner and Eva Sockman will leave behind. Given their power, strength, and rebounding abilities, it’s clear that the Lady Bucks program has rarely seen such a dominant duo under the rim, if ever.

Meadowbrook Christian 46, Bucktail 35

Bucktail 7 9 8 11- 35

Meadowbrook 7 16 11 12- 46

MEADOWBROOK (46)

Maddy Fasnacht 5 9-12 21; Kaylee Ward 4 0-0 12; Lauren Dugan 2 0-0 5; Megan Reed 3 0-2 6; Grace Ask 0 2-4 2. Totals 14 11-18 46.

BUCKTAIL (35)

Kendall Wagner 5 3-5 16; Arionna Winkelman 4 0-0 8; Eva Sockman 3 1-1 7; Kelsie Wagner 1 2-2 4. Totals 13 6-8 35.

Three-pointers: Meadowbrook 7 (Ward 4, Fasnacht 2, Dugan); Bucktail 3 (Kendall Wagner 3).