By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
History could be made tonight in Coloma as the Dowagiac varsity basketball team goes after the school's first district championship in 29 years.
The Chieftains (15-6) will take on rival Lakeshore (9-12) in the title game, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Dowagiac will be trying to win the school's third district championship. The Chieftains were also district champions in 1977 and 1974.
To bring home the title, Dowagiac will need to gain a measure of revenge against a Lakeshore team that defeated the Chieftains 57-37 back in September.
According to second year Dowagiac coach Greg Blomgren, this is a different team from the one that faced the Lady Lancers in the second game of the season.
"We aren't the same team," Blomgren said. "We were still trying to figure out who we were as a basketball team."
Dowagiac has not had a lot of success against Lakeshore in its history. At one point, the Lady Lancers had won 46 straight games against Dowagiac.
However, times have changed. Dowagiac has won four of the last six meetings between the two schools.
Dowagiac is coming off a great regular season, in which it won the school's first conference championship since 1984 and had its first winning season since the mid-1990s.
The Chieftains won their opening district game over St. Joseph, 60-38, on Wednesday night.
Dowagiac, which has canned 158 3-pointers this season, the sixth best single season total in state history, hit just one trey against the Lady Bears.
The Chieftains showed just how far they had come as a team over the course of the season as they switched gears and went inside to score.
Dowagiac got a great effort out of its four post players, who accounted for half of the Chieftains' points.
Junior Shardatsha Fitchett and freshman Britnee Allerton combined to score 22 of those points.
The pair also hauled down 12 rebounds. Allerton was still playing on the freshmen basketball team when the two teams met in September.
Lakeshore advanced to the finals with a 48-27 victory over Berrien Springs.
The win was the sixth of its last eight games.
In the first meeting between the two schools, Dowagiac had just 13 baskets compared to 23 for the Lady Lancers.
Dowagiac did have six 3-pointers in the contest, but managed only seven baskets inside the arc.
"We have to shoot the ball better," Blomgren said about tonight's match-up. "We have to be more aggressive to the basket. Last time we settled for jump shots."
Lakeshore led 19-12 after one period of play and 31-24 at halftime.
The Lady Lancers then put the game away in the third quarter when they outscored the Chieftains 17-5.
Katie O'Connor, Lakeshore's 6-foot post player, led the way with 18 points.
The Lady Lancers also got 13 points from guard Katie Pappa.
Lakeshore was able to keep Dowagiac guard Katy Stuppy in check the entire night.
Stuppy, who is averaging better than 20 points per game this season, was held to just five points.
Holly Lowe was the leading scorer for the Chieftains with 13 points, while sister Torie Lowe added 10 points.
Beth Williams had seven points for the Chieftains.
Dowagiac has been able to pressure teams the entire season and will look to extended the court again tonight against Lakeshore.
The Chieftains have also fared well at the free throw line, but only made 5-of-17 shots against the Lady Lancers in the first meeting.
The winner of tonight's game advances to the Coldwater regional where it will face the winner of the Three Rivers district in the opening game.