Lady Bulldogs Roll On, Dump Pirates

DAYTON - The Dayton Bulldog girls overcame an early five point deficit in the second quarter to topple a tall but young Pomeroy Pirate basketball team 53-37 Saturday. After garnering an initial 6-2 lead over the first 4:30 of the first quarter, Dayton lost momentum allowing the Pirates to put together a 9-0 run and take a 5-point advantage at 11-6. The Pirates, who boast a front line of 6-foot 1-inch Savannah Ruark, and three other 5-10 post players, stymied the Dayton offense while guard Ireland Mayfield, Ruark, and 3-point marksmen Torrie Koller hit four straight shots to take the lead.

McKayla Bickelhaupt and Courtney Fuller kicked Dayton's offense back in gear after the nearly six minute scoring drought. The Bulldog tandem each posted six points during a 14-2 run - Fuller on fast break lay- ups and Bickelhaupt on two buckets from behind the arc. The halftime tally stood 20- 13, Dayton.

The Dayton scoring run continued into the second half, as Bickelhaupt and Fuller registered the next nine Bulldog points. Four unanswered shots by the duo, capped by a Malia Frame put-back, forced Pomeroy into a time out with the Bulldogs leading 31-17.

Dayton built its lead to 18 points at 37-19 on another Fuller shot, before a Ruark inside shot trimmed it back to 37-21at the third quarter break. The Bulldogs outscored the Pirates in the second and third quarter run, 31-8.

But Pomeroy refused to surrender. Led by three Koller treys, and two Emily Jentz buckets, Pomeroy cut the 16-point deficit to nine with two minutes remaining. The Pirates, however, could pull no closer, scoring only a single point the rest of the way. Dayton's Sarah Phillips dashed the Pirates' last hopes with a 2-point bucket with 27 seconds to go.

" They just executed their offense," Dayton head coach Clayton Strong said explaining the Pomeroy first half run. "They were back- cutting off the wing and we were losing their girls in the half court and they took advantage of it. We tried to make the adjustment, cut down on their scoring lanes, and we were able to get hot from the perimeter a little bit. It allowed us to get back into the game and build the lead going into halftime."

Bickelhaupt led all scorers on the night with 22 points - 12 coming on four 3-point baskets. Fuller was the only other Bulldog in double figures tallying 15 points on seven field goals. Lexie Ramirez led the Bulldogs on the boards with six rebounds.

"That is the best McKayla (Bickelhaupt) has shot all year," said Strong. "A lot of it was her getting back to being fundamentally sound shooting the basketball. And once she saw one go in, she's got one of those mentalities that says, 'if one goes in, you know two or three more are going in'."

Strong also praised his senior guard, Fuller. "Courtney's been a sparkplug for us all year coming off the bench, and being really everything you'd hope a sixth man would be-score, play defense, and distribute the basketball. Those two girls were really good tonight."