Chieftains snap losing streak
Published 11:01 pm Wednesday, December 17, 2008
By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
It was over in a hurry.
The Dowagiac girls' varsity basketball team wasted little time Tuesday night in snapping a two-game losing streak.
The Chieftains rolled out to a 13-2 first quarter lead and never looked back in dispatching visiting Vicksburg 62-32 in a Wolverine Conference contest.
The win squared Dowagiac's season mark at 2-2 and its league record at 1-1.
The loss was the first in the conference for the Bulldogs.
"After two devastating losses where we were on the receiving end of what we did to them tonight, I was nervous because I didn't know what we were going to have to look forward to," first-year Dowagiac coach Dick O'Day said. "Before the game we talked about heart and intensity and we came out and played with a lot of heart and intensity. We really stepped up."
Dowagiac's full-court pressure defense seemed to be too much for Vicksburg.
Numerous turnovers off the press led to easy buckets the entire first half for the Chieftains, who led 18-6 at the end of one period.
Torie Lowe and Kaisha Martin both turned Lady Bulldogs mistakes into points, while Britnee Allerton snared rebounds and got inside for good looks.
Allerton finished with a game-high 21 points. She was 10-of-13 from the field.
Dowagiac didn't let up in the second quarter as it pounded the glass and forced Vicksburg into turnovers.
A 12-point first quarter lead turned into a 40-16 halftime advantage after the Chieftains poured in 22 points in the second period, including 11 by Allerton.
"Where has that been? She's there and we talked about it before the game. I said you are capable of getting 17 a game and tonight is a good place to start," O'Day said of Allerton. "She ran the floor well, she got some nice easy bunnies and she had some rebound put-backs. I thought she did great."
Things didn't get a lot better for the Lady Bulldogs in the second half as the miscues mounted and so did the points on the scoreboard for Dowagiac.
A 16-12 advantage in scoring in the third quarter gave Dowagiac a 56-28 lead heading into the final period.
The Chieftains emptied the bench in the later stages of the third quarter and the subs played nearly all of the fourth quarter.
Dowagiac managed just six points, but held Vicksburg to a basket and a pair of free throws.
Beside Allerton, Dowagiac also got 11 points from Lowe and nine points from Martin. Brittany Gnatz came off the bench to score seven points for the Chieftains, who were 27-of-74 from the floor, including 1-of-10 from the 3-point line.
Dowagiac did shoot 70 percent from the free throw line as it hit seven out of 10 shots.
O'Day was also happy to see his team score 62 points on a night when leading scorer Lowe had just 11 points.
"That takes pressure off her," he said about having a balanced scoring attack. "She doesn't have to feel like she has to get 25 a game for us to win. So I thought that was huge."
Kristen Kuhlman led the Lady Bulldogs with 12 points. Jordi Palsrok added six.
The Chieftains are back in action on Friday night as they travel to Allegan for another Wolverine Conference contest.
VICKSBURG 32
Kelly Duke 1 0-0 2; Shelby Meyer 0 0-0 0; Kelsey Sandahl 3 0-2 6; Mia Mutch 0 1-4 1; Kristen Kuhlman 5 0-2 12; Jordi Palsrok 4 0-0 8; Kati Hughley 0 1-4 1; Davie Ocker 0 0-0 0; Kristen Olson 1 0-2 2; Jessie Van 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 14 2-14 32
DOWAGIAC 62
Tasia Diaz 2 0-0 4; Katie Wood 0 0-0 0; Cierra Mattix 0 0-0 0; Torie Lowe 4 3-5 11; Kaisha Martin 3 3-3 9; Andrea Bradshaw 2 0-0 4; Leana Allen 1 0-0 2; Brittany Gnatz 3 0-0 7; Britnee Allerton 10 1-2 21; Kayleigh Hutchings 1 0-0 2; Tori Shank 0 0-0 0; Marie Ennesser 0 0-0 0; Cassie Stone 1 0-0 2; Joanna Pickar 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 27 7-10 62
Vicksburg 6 16 28 32
Dowagiac 18 40 56 62
3-point goals: Vicksburg 2 (Kuhlman 2), Dowagiac 1 (Gnatz). Total fouls (fouled out): Vicksburg 11, Dowagiac 15. Varsity records: Dowagiac 2-2, 1-1