By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
For perhaps the first time in school history, the Dowagiac girls' basketball team will enter the district tournament as the favorite.
Dowagiac earned that honor by being the lone team in the Class B District Basketball Tournament at Coloma with a winning record.
The Chieftains are 14-6 the season and are the co-champions of the Wolverine Conference.
St. Joseph, Lakeshore, South Haven, Berrien Springs and the host Lady Comets will join Dowagiac at Coloma.
While Dowagiac is considered the favorite based on record, Chieftain coach Greg Blomgren said that St. Joseph and Lakeshore will be a factor because of the competition they face in the Big 16 Conference.
"You look at the records and you would have to say we are the favorites based on that," Blomgren said. "I think you have to look at St. Joseph and Lakeshore because of the competition they play. They could be a factor."
Dowagiac and Lakeshore both earned first round byes and will have to wait until Wednesday to open up competition.
Berrien Springs and South Haven will open up tournament play tonight at 6. St. Joseph and Coloma will square off in the second game at 7:30 p.m.
The Berrien Springs and South Haven winner will face Lakeshore at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, while the St. Joseph-Coloma winner will take on the Chieftains at 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday night's winners will advance to the finals at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Dowagiac will be looking to win its first district title since 1977. The Chieftains have had an outstanding season, winning its first conference title wince 1984.
Dowagiac has faced two of the district competitors. South Haven is also a member of the Wolverine Conference and was defeated twice by the Chieftains.
The other team to square off with the Chieftains was Lakeshore in the second game of the season. The Lady Lancers posted a 57-37 victory over Dowagiac.
"We're playing much better basketball now than we were back then," Blomgren said of the Lakeshore loss. "I am pleased with the way we have been playing. We figured out a style that works best for us and it has really come together. We have won seven out of our last eight games. You want to be playing your best basketball at this time of year and I think we are doing that."
Blomgren added that his team is well aware of who St. Joseph and Lakeshore are and will not underestimate any of the teams in the district.
The other hot team coming into the tournament is Lakeshore. The Lady Lancers have won five of their last seven games heading into the tournament, including an upset of Niles.
Niles has dominated this district for years, however, the Lady Vikings have moved up to Class A, so a new champion will be crowned at the end of the week.
"They have been put in an absolutely brutal district," Blomgren said of Niles. "But that was good for us because it gives everyone else hope. Niles had won something like nine out of the last 10 district titles."
Junior point guard Katy Stuppy leads the Chieftains. Stuppy, who is Dowagiac's all-time leading scorer, is averaging 20.2 points per game.
Dowagiac has shot the ball well all season long. The Chieftains have canned 157 3-pointers this season, the sixth best total in state history. Stuppy, who has 1,066 points in her career, has hit 65 3-pointers, also a new school record. She surpassed teammate Holly Lowe's total of 60, which was set last season. Lowe has 35 3-pointers. Lowe missed three games with a sore knee.
Freshmen Torie Lowe has 42 3-pointers and is averaging 12.4 pointer per game. Her sister Holly is averaging 9.6 points a contest.