By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
On a night when the shooting touch was off, visiting Dowagiac was still able to get out of South Haven with a Wolverine Conference victory.
The Chieftains (2-2, 2-0 Wolverine) did not score in the final eight minutes against the Lady Rams, but posted a 32-26 victory on Tuesday night.
"We are happy with the win," Dowagiac coach Greg Blomgren said. "We are happy to go 2-0 in the conference and improve to 2-2 overall. It's a step in the right direction for the program, but we are not happy with the way we played."
Blomgren is not sure why his team is struggling offensively, but hopes that the team can find their stroke on Thursday night against league foe Allegan. The Chieftains host the Lady Tigers in a tripleheader beginning at 4:15 p.m. with the freshmen contest.
The Lady Rams (1-2, 0-2 Wolverine) led 8-7 after one period of play, but found themselves down 20-11 at halftime. Dowagiac outscored South Haven 13-3 in the pivotal second period.
Leading by nine at halftime, the Chieftains stretched their advantage to 10 points heading into the final eight minutes of play.
Dowagiac led 32-22 after three quarters.
"South Haven wouldn't give in and come out of their zone," Blomgren said. "We weren't shooting the ball well enough to draw them out of it either. So with about three or four minutes left in the game we decided to possess the ball and basically we didn't take a shot."
Katy Stuppy led Dowagiac with 12 points, while Holly Lowe finished with 11 points. Dowagiac also got four points from Kristy Cooper.
"It was nice to see Holly regain a little confidence in her outside shot," Blomgren said. "Kristy Cooper did some nice things inside for us and scored a couple of baskets off of offensive rebounds."
The Dowagiac junior varsity team did not have a game on Tuesday night because South Haven did not field a team. The Lady Rams in the freshmen contest defeated the Chieftains, 22-21.
Dowagiac will take on Allegan in the third game on Thursday night, which is scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m. The junior varsity game is scheduled to follow the freshmen tilt at approximately 5:45 p.m.
DOWAGIAC 32
Holly Lowe 3 2-2 11, Torie Lowe 1 0-0 3, Kristy Cooper 1 2-2 4, Katy Stuppy 3 3-7 12, Katie Roach 1 0-0 2. Totals: 9 7-11 32
SOUTH HAVEN 26
Jane Barden 1 1-2 3, Jenna Hill 2 1-2 5, Mariah Hilliard 1 4-4 6, Morgan Bierhalter 1 0-0 2, Jasmine Martin 4 2-2 10. Totals: 9 8-10 26
Dowagiac 7 20 32 32
South Haven 8 11 22 26
Three-point baskets: H. Lowe (D) 3, T. Lowe (D), Stuppy (D) 3. Total fouls: Dowagiac 10, South Haven 13. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: None. Freshmen score: South Haven 22, Dowagiac 21