New Coach, New Identity For Dogs

DAYTON -- The Dayton Lady Bulldogs are back in the swing of things on the court under the new direction of Clayton Strong.

Strong moved up from his assistant boys basketball coaching position and is still breaking the ice with his new group of athletes.

"I got the chance to watch these girls last season, but am still getting a grasp on what each one's individual skills are," said coach Strong.

The Lady Bulldogs return all of their players except for Senior Darci Hall, who opted for a cheerleading spot instead.

Senior Nicole Lambert is a shoe in for the guard slot.

"We are going to be real heavy on the guard side of things and will look to rely on Nicole for the perimeter. She has good ball handling skills that we will need," said Strong.

Senior Shelby Smith will take on the post position.

"She's athletic and will have to use that against the bigger post players in the league," said Strong.

"Senior Samura Miller is a utility player," said Strong. "She is athletic enough and tall so we'll put her on the post if needed."

"Our girls are not real big," said Strong. "But what they lack in size they make up for in experience."

Courtney Fuller is a good ball handler who is also a bit tenacious on the defensive side. Leah Frame will mostly be down low in the post.

"I'm really pleased with what a good attitude Leah has," said Strong. "She will be a strong post player as well."

McKayla Bickelhaupt will most likely swing from the guard to a wing so that she can focus on scoring.

"She is a versatile player and we will use her down low on the defensive side against the post players," he said.

Jessica Tate is an intelligent player who doesn't let much get to her and Courtney Mings is an athletic girl who has a little bit of everything as a sophomore.

Samantha Harting is quick and strong as a junior and is someone who Strong will use defensively on the perimeter.

Freshman Lexi Ramirez is a versatile, basketball-savvy player who will swing on the varsity squad along with freshman Sarah Phillips who has good ball handling skills.

"Sarah is very coachable. She still needs work but will be a good perimeter defender," said Strong.

Strong has 26 Bulldogs who turned out for the season. "We're still working on our identity as a team," said Strong. "We are still an unknown team and have a lot of work to do to get to the level of teams like WP and Asotin."

The Bulldogs will concentrate on a basic offensive skills for the time being working on things like reading screens and how to use them.

"We'll do our best to control the tempo of the game while taking advantage of the fast break," said Strong. "We've got to be tough on (defense); we're going to have to create turnovers. We'll run a man-to-man if it kills me. As long as the girls can keep attitudes in check and work hard they will be successful."

The Lady Bulldogs will open its season on the road with a trip to Tekoa-Oaksdale Tuesday Nov. 29. Tipoff is at 6 p.m.