Chieftains fall to Plainwell
Published 9:48 am Saturday, February 9, 2008
By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
If defense wins championships, then the Dowagiac girls' varsity basketball team doesn't have to spend much time figuring out why it will not be able to defending its Wolverine Conference title.
Chieftain coach Greg Blomgren was disappointed with his team's defensive effort Thursday night in a showdown with league-leading Plainwell.
Dowagiac had a defensive game plan that it needed to work in order to stop the Lady Trojans from eliminating it from the title chase.
That plan wasn't executed as the Chieftains fell to Plainwell 66-61.
"We had a game plan obviously it was to pay attention to their two guards," Blomgren said following the game. "I thought we did a really good job of it for the most part all night.
"But, when their girls from the three, four and five position caught it in the 12- to 14-foot range, we really worked in practice the last couple of days of staying down, on our feet, and not going for the pump fake," Blomgren continued. "We just couldn't get that message across and they continued to fake us and go around us on the drive. That was the No. 1 difference in the game.
"There really is nothing else to look at. We played hard enough, we rebounded well enough and we scored enough points. Defensively, we didn't execute the game plan," he added.
Another key was the fact that Dowagiac had a chance to really put Plainwell behind the eight ball in each of the first three quarters.
The Chieftains (14-3, 12-3 Wolverine) built up an early 7-2 lead in the opening quarter only to have the Lady Trojans come storming back to trail just 12-10 by the end of the first period.
Dowagiac trailed early in the second quarter, but opened up a 23-17 lead with 2:52 to play on a pair of Kristy Cooper free throws.
Again Plainwell came roaring back, this time catching the Chieftains at 25 with 48.9 seconds remaining in the opening half.
The trend continued in the third quarter as Dowagiac rolled up a 34-26 advantage as Britnee Allterton scored on an offensive rebound with 5:54 remaining.
Plainwell had yet another answer, cutting the lead to 43-42 by quarter's end.
In the final eight minutes, Lexi Adams scored seven of the Lady Trojans' 24 points, while Plainwell connected on 10-of-13 free throws to seal the victory.
Dowagiac made one last run at the Lady Trojans in the final minute.
Cooper hit a pair of free throws with 1:07 remaining to cut Plainwell's lead to 63-59. Following a steal by Shardata Fitchett and a bucket by Sada Nealey, the lead was just 63-61 with 55.1 seconds remaining.
That would be as close as the Chieftains would get as Plainwell hit three out of its final four free throws.
Cooper finished with a career and game-high 20 points, while Allerton added 17 points before fouling out. Dowagiac also got 12 points from Torie Lowe.
Adams and Grace Howrigon both had 13 points to lead the Lady Trojans, who are now 15-2 overall and 14-1 in the league.
Hali Dolnik chipped in with 10 points.
Dowagiac will hit the road Saturday when it travels to Richland to take on Gull Lake. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m.
PLAINWELL 66
Hali Dolnir 5 0-0 10, Nicole Keith 2 2-4 6, Bianca Harmon 3 5-6 11, Ashly Hafer 2 1-2 5, Grace Howrigon 4 4-4 13, Lexi Adams 5 3-5 13, Jennifer Lofis 3 2-6 8. Totals: 24 17-27 66
DOWAGIAC 61
Tasia Diaz 0 0-0 0, Torie Lowe 4 3-4 12, Kristy Cooper 4 9-10 20, Sada Nealey 2 0-0 4, Katy Stuppy 1 3-4 5, Britnee Allerton 8 1-4 17, Kayleigh Hutchings 0 0-1 0, Shardatsha Fitchett 1 1-2 3. Totals: 20 17-25 61
Plainwell 12 13 17 24 – 66
Dowagiac 10 15 18 18 – 61
3-point baskets: Cooper (D) 3, Lowe (D), Howrigon (P). Total fouls: Plainwell 16, Dowagiac 19. Fouled out: Adams (P), Lofts (P), Allerton (D). Records: Plainwell 15-2, 14-1 Wolverine; Dowagiac 14-3, 12-3 Wolverine