Lady Bulldogs continue to roll, sweep a pair

The Lovell Lady Bulldog Express rolled on this week as the top-ranked squad pounded Greybull in a conference game Friday night in Greybull, 53-19, then crushed Big Horn at home Saturday afternoon, 55-35.The Lady Buffs had knocked off Riverside Thursday night, 34-32, for their first conference win of the season, but they were no match for the Lady Bulldogs, who dominated on defense to outscore the shell-shocked home team 20-2 in each the first and second quarters to lead 40-4 at halftime.[caption id="attachment_2804" align="alignright" width="314" caption="Lovell senior Miranda Griffis drives baseline against Greybull’s Mckenna Powers during Lovell’s 53-19 win Friday night in Greybull. After beating Big Horn Saturday, the Lady Bulldogs are now 15-1."][/caption]“Our defense led to our offense,” coach Chris Edwards said. “We ran a full-court man and a 1-2-2 full-court press and got a lot of steals that we converted into points. Even in our half-court defense we were able to get steals, which led to some easy transition baskets.Amanda Shumway scored 10 points in the first half, Leanne Winterholler 8, Alyssa Geiser and Miranda Griffis 7 each. Greybull hit only one basket, a deuce by Jessica Hunt, and two of seven free throws.“At halftime we talked about being solid in what we were doing and executing and not developing bad habits by not competing hard,” Edwards said. “We pulled off the press and just wanted to play solid in the half court on both offense and defense. I was frustrated by a few things – our lack of effort and our lack of efficiency.”Indeed, in pulling back to not run up the score, the Lady Bulldogs also lost intensity. Greybull tied Lovell in the third quarter, 6-6, and outscored the Lady Bulldogs in the fourth, 9-7.Shumway finished with 13 points, six rebounds and three assists. Geiser added 10 points, Griffis 9 and Winterholler 8. Jodi Walker grabbed five rebounds.The box score:LOVELL (53)Alyssa Geiser 3 2-4 10, Jodi Walker 0 0-0 0, Leanne Winterholler 3 1-1 8, Kassidy Hetland 0 0-0 0, Kim Shumway 0 2-2 2, Hannah McCurley 0 0-0 0, Amanda Shumway 6 1-2 13, Chelsey Ellis 3 1-2 7, Chayli McArthur 0 0-0 0, Erin Robertson 1 2-2 4, Miranda Griffis 2 5-7 9, Emilee Reasch 0 0-2 0. Totals 18 14-22 53.GREYBULL (19)Michaela Denniston 0 0-0 0, Jessia Hunt 2 0-5 4, Ceirra Carlson 1 0-0 3, Soila Hernandez 1 0-0 3, Kirbi Anderson 0 2-2 2, Brett Stephens 0 0-2 0, Lindsay Kern 0 0-1 0, Biri Gallegos 1 1-4 3, Mckenna Powers 0 4-6 4. Totals 5 7-20 19.Lovell 20 20 6 7 – 53Greybull 2 2 6 9 – 19Three-point field goals – Geiser 2, Winterholler 1; Carlson 1, Hernandez 1. Fouled out – none. Total fouls – Lovell 17, Greybull 18.Saturday winIt was a contrast in styles Saturday in Lovell, Edwards said. Big Horn was tall and wanted to get the ball inside, while the Lady Bulldogs wanted to run the floor. Edwards said the Lovell “bigs” needed to step up, and senior Erin Robertson rose to the challenge, scoring 17 points on eight-of-13 shooting and grabbing five rebounds. She also played good defense against Big Horn center Mali Wright, he said.“We were able to spread the floor, and they chose to front Erin,” Edwards said. “We took away their backside help by keeping the floor spread.”Also strong inside was senior forward Jodi Walker, who scored 9 points on three-of-four shooting from the field, three-of-three at the line, and grabbed five boards.“Jodi was getting inside and making strong moves,” Edwards noted.Amanda Shumway added 6 points and four rebounds inside, and outside, Leanne Winterholler had 10 points and four assists, Alyssa Geiser 5 points, three assists and three steals. Chelsey Ellis and Kim Shumway scored 4 each.“We talked, as coaches, about how we have girls who are capable of scoring each night,” Edwards said. “The girls are unselfish and it doesn’t bother them to allow another girl to have success.”Lovell “won” all four quarters, outscoring Big Horn 13-6 in the first quarter, 13-7 in the second, 12-10 in the third and 17-12 in the fourth.“I was pleased with our shot selection,” Edwards said. “We were patient enough to rotate the ball. That allows plays to develop and the girls to take good shots within the flow of the offense.”The Lady Bulldogs shot 51 percent from the field from two-point range.The box score:BIG HORN (35)B. Popp 2 0-0 4, D. Wright 1 0-1 2, K. Puckett 2 0-0 4, G. Goldhammer 2 0-0 4, E. O’Dell 2 0-0 4, M. Kobold 0 0-2 0, H. Puckett 0 2-2 2, M. Wright 5 5-7 15. Totals 14 7-12 35.LOVELL (55)Alyssa Geiser 2 1-2 5, Chelsey Ellis 1 2-2 4, Jodi Walker 3 3-3 9, Amanda Shumway 2 2-3 6, Kim Shumway 2 0-2 4, Erin Robertson 8 1-2 17, Miranda Griffis 0 0-2 0, Leanne Winterholler 4 0-0 10. Totals 22 9-16 55.Big Horn 6 7 10 12 – 35Lovell 13 13 12 17 – 55Three-point field goals – Winterholler 2. Fouled out – none. Total fouls – Big Horn 13, Lovell 14.Home and awayThe Lady Bulldogs will host the Riverside Lady Rebels Friday in a conference game, then travel to Worland for non-conference action Saturday.Riverside is 3-14 overall, 1-4 in the Five Rivers Conference, and the Lady Bulldogs clobbered the Rebels 67-29 back on Jan. 20 in Basin.“We want to continue to improve on our half-court execution,” Edwards said. “We want to make sure we control the tempo and, obviously, with Riverside, we want to take care of a conference opponent.”Cydnie Clark is a tough matchup inside, Edwards said. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Friday at Winterholler Gym, preceded by the JVs at 4.Saturday, the Lady Bulldogs travel to Worland to take on the 3A Lady Warriors. Worland is 7-10 overall, 3-10 in the 3A East. The Warriors have good size and have defeated Riverton, Cheyenne South, Powell, Thermopolis, Newcastle (twice) and Glenrock.“We expect physical, typical 3A basketball,” Edwards said.A long day in Worland begins with freshman games at 2 p.m., followed by JV games at 3:30, the girls varsity at 5 and the boys varsity at 6:30.By David Peck