DOUGLAS — The Lady Bulldogs traveled once again, heading to the Douglas Classic over the weekend where they faced the 5th ranked team in 3A girls’ basketball. With four wins and only one loss for the Bulldogs, the girls took the floor Saturday morning ready to go, after beating Burns the night before, 41-36. The Lander Valley Lady Tigers came into this game averaging 41 points per game, shooting 44% from the field. 

Starting for the Bulldogs were senior Kacey Otero, senior Laynie Goertz, junior Karly Jones, senior Lily Nichols, and freshman Lily Anderson. 

After a sub-par toss by the ref, Kacey Otero grabbed the ball and put up a three just seconds into the first quarter, with the Bulldogs putting on a full court press. In spite of several attempted shots by the Lady Tigers, they just couldn’t get a ball to drop. The Bulldogs established an early lead; 3-0.

Amid turnovers on both sides, freshman Lily Anderson scored on a drive followed quickly by another shot by Goertz, giving the Bulldogs a seven-point lead in the first few minutes of play, due in part to their aggressive defense. Lander was finally able to score even with eight turnovers in the first quarter.

Junior Camryn Mickelsen and junior Ella Keil saw some early floor time. Just as Keil saw an opportunity for an assist, her pass was oddly tipped by a Lady Tiger defensive player, and Keil’s pass turned into a good basket. Lander answered the freak-bucket with a basket of their own, putting the score at 9-4, Bulldogs.

The Lady Tigers amped up their play and Hayden Goggles added another three, closing in on the Bulldogs’ lead; but Otero was having none of that and drained her own three, keeping the Bulldogs on top. Senior Lily Nichols put up a buzzer-shot, but it was no good and the score stood at 12-7.

The second quarter opened up with Anderson scoring another three-pointer, spreading out their lead by 10 points. Tough defense continued to keep the Lady Tigers from scoring. Finally, after a static scoreboard, Lander was able to score a three, closing the gap a bit. Only one player from Lander, Hayden Goggles, had been able to score up to this point. 

Goertz answered with a drive to the basket, drawing a foul and going to the stripe; Nichols grabbed the missed free throw and scored. Both teams started feeling some pressure and Lander was able to rebut with a third three-pointer; and after a scuffle for a loose ball, Lander scored again, closing the Bulldog lead to only three points; 21-18. 

Midway through the third period, the Bulldogs were able to hold on to their lead in spite of trading turnovers and the aggressive Otero pulling her third personal foul. The Bulldogs were plagued by a string of missed shots at the tail end of the third quarter, until Anderson put up a shot, got fouled and completed a three-point-play. Continued defensive pressure kept the Lady Tigers down to only scoring four points in the third quarter, the score 36-28, at the start of fourth quarter play.

Nichols, Keil, Goertz, Karly Jones and Mickelsen started fourth quarter play, as Otero was on the bench with three fouls. 

The Lady Tigers were able to score at the top of the fourth quarter. It was notable that the Lady Bulldogs had up to this point kept their opponent to only 28 points by the fourth quarter, as the Lady Tigers had heretofore averaged 41 points per game. Bulldog defense continued to overwhelm the Tigers throughout the game. 

With a good bucket from Mickelsen - her first from the field - the Bulldogs held on to their 10-point-lead. Teammate Goertz stole the ball once again and scored, giving the Bulldogs the biggest lead of the game. Otero got back in the game along with Keil, who saw a lot of floor time.

Head coach Michelle Coplen advised her athletes to take their time and eat off some minutes as the clock ticked down to about three minutes. 

Lander Valley decided to become a bit more aggressive in the last few minutes and reduced the Bulldogs’ lead to 10, fouling Keil hard as she went in for a basket. With Keil’s good bonus shots, the Bulldogs were once again enjoying a 12-point lead with just around one minute of play remaining. The Lady Tigers fouled another Bulldog, and Anderson put in a good shot.

With 35 seconds to play, Lander was finally able to score, but failed to close the consistent lead and the game ended at 46-24, Bulldogs, as the clock ran out.

Freshman Lily Anderson led the team in scoring with 15 points, Otero added eight, Goertz and Nichols contributed seven points apiece, Keil added six and Mickelsen was good for three. 

There were 50 turnovers between the two teams, and the Bulldogs shot 38% from the field, putting in 75% of their free-throws, making nine out of twelve shots from the line. 

The Lady Bulldogs also faced Lovell in tournament play, losing in a close game 36-44. Scoring for the ‘Dawgs were Goertz with seven, Lola Philo with two, Otero adding four, Mickelsen with two, Anderson with 10, and Nichols contributing 11.