By Staff
SOUTH HAVEN – The Dowagiac girls' varsity basketball team opened up defense of its Wolverine Conference title Friday night with a 56-37 victory over host South Haven.
The Chieftains (1-0, 1-0) opened up an 11-6 lead after one period of play and extended their advantage to 31-14 by halftime.
Dowagiac outscored the Lady Rams 20-8 in the second quarter to open up the 16-point bulge at the intermission.
"We wanted to get out of the gate with a win and it's a big one because it was a conference game," Dowagiac coach Greg Blomgren said. "We wanted to set the tone for the season and I think we did that. For the first game and a road game, I didn't think we played too bad."
Senior Kristy Cooper got the Chieftains off to a quick start before senior Katy Stuppy and Torie Lowe got heated up.
Stuppy finished with a game-high 25 points, while Lowe added 17. Dowagiac also got eight points from Cooper and six points from Shardatsha Fitchett.
Britnee Allerton led the team with seven rebounds, despite being saddled with early foul trouble.
Cooper grabbed six rebounds, while Fitchett had five steals.
Stuppy finished with four steals and five assists.
Dowagiac was defeated in freshmen action, while the junior varsity team posted a victory. Further results were unavailable at press time.
Dowagiac will return to action on Thursday when it hosts Three Rivers in another Wolverine Conference contest.
DOWAGIAC 56
Tasia Diaz 0 0-0 0, Jaskarian Kaur 0 0-0 0, Lindsey Truitt 0 0-0 0, Torie Lowe 7 1-3 17, Kristy Cooper 3 2-7 8, Katie Wood 0 0-0 0, Brittany Gnatz 0 0-0 0, Katy Stuppy 7 7-8 25, Britnee Allerton 0 0-0 0, Kayleigh Hutchings 0 0-1 0, Shardatsha Fitchett 3 0-0 6. Totals: 20 10-19 56
SOUTH HAVEN 37
Mackeshia Ford 0 0-0 0, Christina Pigozzi 2 0-0 5, Jenna Hill 1 0-0 3, Mariah Hilliard 3 4-4 10, Morgan Bierhalter 1 0-0 2, Sara Parish-Reeves 1 0-0 2, Rachelle Newberry 7 1-4 15, Alyssa Swagerly 0 0-0 0, Jamie Lesk 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 5-8 37
Dowagiac 11 20 9 16 – 56
South Haven 6 8 6 17 – 37
3-point baskets: Stuppy (D) 4, Lowe (D) 2, Pigozzi (SH), Hill (SH). Total fouls Dowagiac 14, South Haven 14. Records: Dowagiac 1-0; South Haven 1-1