By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
Dowagiac varsity basketball coach Greg Blomgren would love to know how to keep his team from getting off to a slow start.
The Chieftains struggled out of the gate once again on Tuesday night in Three Rivers and as a result, dropped a 46-35 decision to the Lady Wildcats.
The loss dropped Dowagiac out of first place in the Wolverine Conference for the first time this season.
The Chieftains are now 7-2 in the league heading into Thursday night's showdown with host Otsego.
"As coaches we are struggling to come up with a reason as to why we get off to such a bad start," Blomgren said. "But we were just not ready to go again tonight. I don't know if our girls understand the sense of urgency you have to play with when you are in the position (first place) they are in. They have never been in this position before."
Three Rivers, which also scored 46 points in the first meeting between the two schools back in September, raced out to a 12-4 first quarter lead.
After the slow start the Chieftains began to battle back and actually led by five points in the third quarter.
Then the roof fell in.
Three Rivers outscored Dowagiac down the stretch in the pivotal third period and took a 29-28 lead into the final eight minutes.
"We gave it all back with a couple of costly errors and a few missed shots," Blomgren said.
Dowagiac, which scored 58 points in the first meeting, outscored Three Rivers 11-8 in the second quarter to close to within five at halftime, 20-15.
In the third quarter the Chieftains held 13-9 scoring advantage.
Three Rivers regrouped and outscored Dowagiac 17-7 in the final period to pull out the victory.
Holly Lowe led Dowagiac with 14 points. She was the lone Chieftain to reach double figures. Katy Stuppy, who played despite being ill, scored nine points. Kristy Cooper and Torie Lowe both finished with four points.
Kim VanShoick led the Lady Wildcats with 12 points. No other Three Rivers player reached doubled figures.
DOWAGIAC 35
Beth Williams 1 0-0 2, Holly Lowe 5 0-2 14, Torie Lowe 2 0-0 4, Kristy Cooper 2 0-0 4, Katy Stuppy 3 1-1 9, Katie Roach 1 0-0 2. Totals: 14 1-3 35
THREE RIVERS 46
Kim VanShoick 5 2-3 12, Whitney Taylor 2 4-4 8, Jessy Oisten 2 2-2 6, Emily Winans 4 1-2 9, Amber Stuut 2 0-0 4, Caitlyn Krull 3 1-2 7. Totals: 17 10-13 46
Dowagiac 4 15 28 35
Three Rivers 12 20 29 46
Three-point baskets: VanShoick (TR) 2, H. Lowe (D) 4, Stuppy (D) 2. Totals fouls: Dowagiac 13, Three Rivers 8. Fouled out: None.