By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
A 23-point fourth quarter lifted the Dowagiac varsity basketball team to a 56-45 Wolverine Conference victory over visiting Vicksburg on Tuesday night.
The Chieftains, who blew out the Lady Bulldogs earlier this season, couldn't put Vicksburg away until the closing stages of the contest.
Dowagiac went 6-of-14 from the field and 9-of-11 from the free throw line to pull away to the 11-point win.
Senior Holly Lowe scored seven of Dowagiac's 23 points, while sister Torie Lowe, a freshmen, added eight points. Junior point guard Katy Stuppy finished with six points in the quarter.
The trio shot all 11 free throws for the Chieftains.
Dowagiac ended up being outrebounded by Vicksburg 26-20, however, the Chieftains held an 8-4 advantage on the backboards in the final eight minutes.
"After playing against Three Rivers and Otsego last week there were some questions about our toughness," Dowagiac coach Greg Blomgren said. "And again tonight, in the first half we were getting pushed around a bit. We weren't as physical as we needed to be. So we addressed that with the team at halftime."
Blomgren added that the team didn't pick up their intensity at the start of the second half, but really turned things around after a couple of rough plays.
"We had to step up or we were going to be in trouble," he said. "We really got aggressive and that paid off because we were in the bonus in the third quarter."
Dowagiac was 14-of-19 from the charity stripe with nearly all of those attempts coming in the second half. Dowagiac shot just two free throws in the first 16 minutes.
The Chieftains trailed a couple of times in the opening half, but always managed to lead by the end of the quarter.
Dowagiac led 11-10 after the first quarter and 20-19 at the intermission. The Chieftains extended their lead to 33-29 heading into the final eight minutes of play.
Stuppy led all scorers with 20 points, while Torie Lowe finished with 19 points. Holly Lowe chipped in with 10 points.
T.J. Wright led the Lady Bulldogs with 11 points. Jamie Toepper added 10 points.
The Chieftains are back in action on Thursday as they host Paw Paw in a Wolverine Conference clash. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
VICKSBURG 45
Jasmin Harp 1 0-0 3, Anna Clark 2 2-4 6, T.J. Wright 3 3-3 11, Kristin White 0 0-0 0, Jamie Toepper 4 2-2 10, Ashley McCaw 0 0-0 0, Melena Touloupas 3 1-2 7, Jessica Kuhlman 0 2-2 2, Lindsey Leonard 3 0-1 6. Totals: 16 10-14 45
DOWAGIAC
Beth Williams 0 0-0 0, Holly Lowe 3 2-2 10, Jaskarin Kaur 0 0-0 0, Lindsey Truitt 0 0-0 0, Torie Lowe 6 3-3 19, Kristy Cooper 0 3-4 3, Katy Stuppy 5 6-8 20, Katie Roach 0 0-0 0, Sarah Ausra 1 0-0 2, Shardatsha Fitchett 1 0-2 2, Tasia Diaz 0 0-0 0, Britnee Allerton 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 14-19 56
Vicksburg 10 19 29 45
Dowagiac 11 20 33 56
3-point baskets: Harp (V), Wright (V) 2, H. Lowe (D) 2, T. Lowe (D) 4, Stuppy (D) 4. Total fouls: Vicksburg 15, Dowagiac 13. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: Williams (D). Varsity records: