Lady Bulldogs Find More Heartache In Pomeroya

POMEROY - The Lady Bulldogs lost to the Pomeroy Pirates in a pre-season game in Pomeroy Tuesday eve­ning, their fourth pre-season loss. The final score was 58-34. What started as a "really good game," according to head coach Scott Hudson, turned gloomy when the Pirates slammed an extra 11 points in the last two minutes of the first half.

"The girls literally had

meltdown," Hudson said. "And they just could not re­cover from it. We came out extremely flat in the second half." Before the half, Dayton was just six points behind. In the third quarter, the Lady Bulldogs shot just two baskets after 13 attempts. Their only points were two three-point shots and a free throw. "They (Pomeroy) just lit it up in the second half," Hud­son said. "They were on fire. We couldn't buy a basket."

The fourth quarter went a little better, he said, but the girls have a lot of work to do in preparation for their first league game against WP in Waitsburg on Friday. "We're going to have a short turn-around time," Hudson said. "The game against WP is going to be pretty tough for us." The Lady Bulldogs lost a heartbreaking game against Tekoa-Oakesdale last Wednesday in a make-up game rescheduled due to snow at the end of November. The girls kept right on top of the Nighthawks all evening, until they seemed to slow down in the last half of the game. The final score was 61-52. The teams were neck and neck at the half, with Dayton up 29-28. Fans in the mostly packed gym could see the girls were working hard and moving fast.

But Tekoa-Oakesdale scored 23 points to Dayton's 11 in the third quarter, which the Lady Bulldogs couldn't make up in the last quarter of the game.

The girls scored 12 points to the Nighthawk's 10, but it wasn't enough to bring them out front again. "That was a great game, great effort," Hudson said. "But in just a three-minute time span they got nine up, and that's what we lost by - nine. The girls just couldn't get back on top." Hudson said the Lady Bulldogs remain timid when it comes to shooting. "They still haven't learned when to shoot," he said. "They're not shooting enough."

He'd like to see the girls shoot 70 times per game, a high school average. Against Pomeroy on Tuesday, the Pirates made 29 baskets out of 84 attempts. Dayton was 11 for 54.

"We want to see that num­ber much higher," Hudson said. The Bulldogs play again Friday against the WP Car­dinal in Waitsburg. The girls' varsity game starts at 6 p.m.

The action continues Sat­urday in Asotin as the boys' and girls' teams play the Pan­thers at home. Varsity games begin at 5 p.m.

DAYTON GIRLS:

Dayton vs. Tekoa-Oakesdale (Dec. 8)

Dayton 11 18 11 12 52

TO 16 12 23 10 61

Dayton (52) McKayla Bickelhaupt 16, Courtney Mings 8, Nicole Lambert 7, Jessica Tate 6, Courtney Fuller 5, Samura Miller 4, Darci Hall 4, Malia Frame 2. Free Throws: 63.6%

Dayton vs. Pomeroy (Dec. 14)

Dayton 9 6 7 12 34

Pomeroy 14 18 12 14 58

Dayton (34) Jessica Tate 10, Nicole Lambert 8, Court­ney

Fuller 3, Samura Miller 3, McKayla Bickelhaupt 5, Darci Hall 4, Courtney Mings 1. Free Throws: 37%