Bulldogs End Season with Tough Playoff Loss

WALLA WALLA - The Dayton girls basketball team ended their season Friday after a tough game against St. George, falling 55-29 to the Dragons.

The game opened slowly as both teams took the court at Whitman College pre­pared to defend their final shot at heading to Spokane for the state tournament.

The lady Bulldogs had a visible height disadvan­tage and struggled to work around the Dragons. But the Dragons were not quick to put points on the board, put­ting up eight in the first four minutes. In the same amount of time, the Bulldogs were only able to put up two points, but the Dayton girls weren't ready to give in so easily.

The Bulldogs took 14 attempts from the field and hit four for eight points. The Dragons took only 10 attempts and hit six for four­teen points.

The first period ended with a score of 15-9, St. George.

In the second period, the rift between scores grew as the Bulldogs lost their bal­ance and the Dragons gar­nered their peak momentum.

The Bulldogs put up ten attempts from the field but couldn't close the deal, put­ting up only one basket for two points. On the other end of the court, the Dragons honed in on the basket, put­ting up 14 shot attempts and hitting eight for 19 points, their high period for the game.

The Bulldogs brought in one extra point for a free throw but couldn't put any­thing else up on the board.

At the half, the score was 34-12, St. George

When the teams returned from halftime, the Dragons seemed comfortable with their lead while the Bulldogs were ready to step up their game.

The Dragons put up a game low period, attempting 12 shots but only hitting four of them for eight points. The Bulldogs attempted 11 shots and hit three for six points.

The Dragons had no free throw points while the Bulldogs had one, ending the third period 42-19, St. George.

The Bulldogs made one final push in the fourth pe­riod, taking 10 attempts at the net from the field and hit­ting four for nine points. The Dragons mirrored Dayton's efforts, taking 15 attempts and hitting five for 12 points.

The Bulldogs were un­able to gain enough ground against the Dragons to close the score gap, ending the game and their season with a final score of 55-29.

Head coach Clayton Strong said he and the team are still working through Friday's game, attempting to get past the "bitter taste" from the season ending too soon.

"I'm pretty proud of our kids though for the season we had. They went 8-2 in the league and 15-5 in the regular season," Strong said. "We have a lot to be proud of in spite of the abrupt end to the season. We really wanted to get to Spokane, and that won't happen."

Friday's game also marked the end of high school basketball careers for five seniors.

"As a coach I really get attached to the kids, and those five girls have meant so much to our program," Strong said. "Any success we have in the future will be partly thanks to them."