By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
There is a logjam atop the Wolverine Conference standings today, thanks to Dowagiac's 52-38 victory over visiting Otsego Tuesday night.
The Chieftains grabbed a share of the league lead with the Lady Bulldogs. Both teams are now 12-4 in conference play. Gull Lake was eliminated from the chase as it was defeated Plainwell.
With one game remaining for each team, who ever comes away with a victory on Thursday night will have at least a share of the title. Dowagiac travels to Paw Paw.
Dowagiac, now 13-6 overall, broke the game open in the second quarter.
The Chieftains and Lady Bulldogs were knotted at 12 after eight minutes of play, however, Dowagiac outscored Otsego 20-4 in the second quarter to open up a 16-point halftime bulge (32-16).
The Chieftains were 8-of-16 in the second period. Katy Stuppy, who was honored before the game for becoming the second Dowagiac player in school history to score over 1,000 points, tallied 12 of the Chieftains' 20 points.
"The second quarter was big," Dowagiac coach Greg Blomgren said. "Our defense was pretty solid the entire first half. We had some pretty easy looks in the first quarter that we didn't convert, but we felt comfortable with the way we were playing defensively. We talked about guarding their big girl (Heather Kreuze). We felt without the size, we thought we really had to stop her from catching the ball and once she did, we needed to force her to kick it back out. I thought we did a good job of that."
On a night when Dowagiac honored its seniors, two of them – Holly Lowe and Katie Roach, helped Dowagiac keep pace in the opening eight minutes. Lowe netted seven of her 13 points, while Roach added a bucket.
Despite the 16-point halftime cushion, Blomgren knew Otsego would make a run at the Chieftains in the second half.
"We talked at halftime about how good teams don't quit," Blomgren said. "We knew they were going to come after us. Unfortunately we came out a little flat to start the second half and then we were in a dogfight. But we were able to score and then our defense picked up again."
Otsego started the second half with a 13-0 run which cut the Chieftains' lead to 32-29 with just under five minutes remaining in the quarter.
Stuppy stopped the bleeding with a 3-pointer at the 4:25 mark. Freshman Torie Lowe followed with a 3-pointer with 3:34 to play in the third quarter to increase Dowagiac's lead to 40-29. Stuppy connected on her second triple of the period, which extended the Chieftains' advantage to 45-29.
Dowagiac finished the quarter hitting 6-of-11 shots from the field.
The Chieftains took a 45-34 lead into the final eight minutes after Otsego made its final run at the end of the period.
Dowagiac played ball control from that point on and only took seven shots in the fourth quarter.
Otsego hoisted up 13 shots in the final frame, missing all of its attempts. The Lady Bulldogs were 4-of-6 from the free throw line, but were unable to dent the Dowagiac lead.
Stuppy finished the night with a game-high 18 points. Holly Lowe finished with 13 points, while Torie Lowe added nine.
Kreuze's 10 points led Otsego. No other Lady Bulldog reached double figures.
Dowagiac must now take care of business on Thursday night against the Lady Redskins.
"I think we learned a lesson last week," Blomgren said. "We came off a big emotional win against Plainwell on Tuesday and then we just weren't ready to play either mentally or physically against Gull Lake on Thursday. With what's at stake, I think our girls will be more than ready to play on Thursday against Paw Paw."
OTSEGO 38
Brooke Neil 3 1-2 7, Brittany Bentley 4 0-0 8, Halston McMullen 1 0-0 2, Brittany Potter 0 3-6 3, Michelle Holland 1 4-4 6, Lacee Boone 0 0-0 0, Arin Tiller 0 0-0 0, Kelsey Kuipers 1 0-0 2, Heather Kreuze 2 6-6 10. Totals: 12 14-18 38
DOWAGIAC 52
Beth Williams 2 0-1 4, Holly Lowe 4 1-2 13, Torie Lowe 3 1-2 9, Kristy Cooper 0 0-0 0, Sada Nealey 0 0-0 0, Katy Stuppy 8 1-2 18, Katie Roach 2 0-0 4, Sara Ausra 0 0-0 0, Shardatsha 0 0-0 0, Tasia Diaz 0 0-0 0, Britnee Allerton 1 2-2 4. Totals: 19 5-9 52
Otsego 12 32 45 52
Dowagiac 12 16 34 38
3-point baskets: H. Lowe (D) 4, T. Lowe (D) 2, Stuppy (D) 3. Total fouls: Otsego 14, Dowagiac 15. Fouled out None. Technical fouls: None.