Lady 'Dogs Falter But Still Alive

Richland – A cold third quarter sunk the Dayton Lady Bulldogs against the Colfax Bulldogs Saturday in Regional 2B playoff action, as the Dayton girls fell, 57-48.

However, Dayton is not out of the hunt for the state title. With the #1 RPI ranking, the girls will advance to the round of 12 and play Mabton Wednesday night at 9 p.m. in Spokane. Colfax will receive a bye in the first round and play in the quarter-finals Thursday.

Going into halftime, the Dayton girls trailed 21-18, but after the third quarter the 'Dogs found themselves down 39-24. Although Dayton fought hard with a faster-paced fourth quarter, outscoring Colfax 24-18, and doubling their score, they still came up short.

Colfax scored first Saturday night followed by Jenna Phillips' first bucket for the night. Shayla Currin put Dayton in the lead during first quarter with a basket and two free-throws, putting the Dayton girls up 6-3 with 3:03 left. Colfax quickly answered with a 7-2 run ending the quarter 10-8 in Colfax's favor. During the first quarter Dayton went just 3-of-13 from the field.

Dayton went four of 14 from the floor in the second quarter, but stayed fairly even by taking away Colfax's inside game. Andrews drained a 3 pointer to bring the Dogs within three, 15-12. Colfax answered by adding a free throw and a trey of their own. Dayton drew three shooting fouls, but could not use this advantage, as they missed the first shot of all three one-and-one's. Fullerton pulled down a big defensive rebound followed by a Phillips three-point play, bringing the score to 18-14. Andrews scored on the inbounds play and then scored Dayton's final bucket of the half, for a halftime score of 18-21.

In the third quarter, Dayton went flat scoring just six points to Colfax's 18. Carmen Gfeller scored 12 of her game high 22 points in this quarter. Dayton shots failed to fall, and Colfax dominated the boards. Scoring highlights in the third quarter were a drive by Fullerton followed by a Phillips fast break and Andrews with another drive down the right side. During the third quarter, Dayton shot just 3 of 15 from the floor, going into the final quarter with a 15-point deficit.

The fourth quarter started with a pair of free throws by Colfax, then Dayton upped the pace of the game and began making up ground. Fullerton was fouled driving down the center and made one of two at the line. Currin and Andrews added three-point plays, each drawing fouls on their drives.

Jenna Phillips contributed a basket and hit two from the foul line, and Fullerton hit one more from the line, bringing the Bulldogs within nine, 45-36 with 2:43 remaining. Dayton began fouling with just under two minutes remaining, but Colfax went 12-14 from the line during the fourth quarter to ensure the win.

Phillips went seven-of-10 from the line during the final quarter and scored a trey with six seconds left, before fouling out. Fullerton drove for a final basket to end the game 57-48. Phillips was awarded with the sportsmanship award for the game.

Phillips led scoring for Dayton with 21, followed by Currin with 10 and Andrews with eight, Fullerton five and Laughery four. Andrews also pulled down 11 rebounds, and Fullerton had three assists.

Colfax 10 11 18 18 - 57

Dayton 8 10 6 24 - 48

Colfax - Warwick 0-1 0-0 0, Smith 1-4 0-0 2, Cai 1-6 4-4 7, Cox 1-1 2-2 4, Miller 3-5 2-4 10, Sakamoto-Howell 0-2 0-0 0, Riebold 0-0 0-0 0, Gfeller 6-10 9-9 22, Geier 1-4 4-6 6, Garcia 2-11 1-2 6, Brown 0-0 0-0 0; Totals 15-44 22-27 57

Dayton - Phillips 6-16 8-11 21, Andrews 3-14 1-1 8, Laughery 2-6 0-0 4, Boggs 0-0 0-0 0, Fullerton 2-6 1-3 5, Currin 3-10 4-7 10, Bryan 0-0 0-0 0, Brincken 0-0 0-0 0; Totals 16-52 14-22 48 

3-point goals -Colfax 5 (Cai, Miller 2, Gfeller, Garcia), Dayton 2 (Phillips, Andrews); Total fouls - Colfax 27, Dayton 22; Fouled out - Colfax (Garcia), Dayton (Andrews, Phillips); Rebounds - Colfax 39 (Gfeller 12), Dayton 35 (Andrews 11). Turnovers - Colfax 16, Dayton 12; Assists - Colfax 7 (Gfeller 2, Cai 2, Miller 2), Dayton 5 (Fullerton 3)