Lady Bulldogs pounced on by Lady Panthers

The Lovell Lady Bulldogs basketball team traveled to Powell on Thursday to wrap up their regular season schedule with a final conference match.

The Lady Panthers won 41-20 over Lovell to remain undefeated (6-0) in conference play and dropped the Lady Bulldogs to 3-3.

Lovell’s curse of having slow starts to games continued as the Lady Bulldogs struggled offensively to get into a productive rhythm. 

The Lady Bulldogs only scored points from the free throw line in the first quarter and found themselves trailing 11-4 at the end of the period.

“Powell was able to seize control of the game from the tip,” Lovell head coach Chris Edwards said. “We had trouble making shots that could ever get us any momentum.”

Hoping things would take off in the second quarter, the Lady Bulldogs scored early as they broke the Lady Panthers’ full-court press when Krysta McIntosh made a pass ahead to Libby Mickelson for a layup.

Mickelson’s shot was the lone field goal in the first half for Lovell as they went into the locker room down 24-7 at the half.

“We were flat coming out, and missing some early shots didn’t help to settle the nerves,” Edwards continued. “We need to do better at that during Regionals to establish confidence at the beginning of the game.”

The Lady Bulldogs came out in the third quarter and proved they could match Powell’s productivity as both teams scored 7 points in the period.

But the Lady Panthers sealed the deal and pulled away in the fourth, outscoring Lovell 10-6.

“Unfortunately, we never mentally got engaged, and Powell took advantage of our lack of confidence,” Edwards noted. 

While Edwards thought the Lady Bulldogs’ defensive efforts were decent throughout the game, he noted that Powell’s inside players scored 33 of their 41 points in the paint and said Lovell could do a better job of containing them.

Raegan May led the Lady Bulldogs with 7 points, going 7 of 8 from the free throw line in the game.

“Raegan did a good job of attacking and drawing fouls, then knocking down the free throws,” Edwards said.

May also grabbed five rebounds and had three assists.

Celeste Lindsay scored on two baskets in the fourth quarter and accounted for half of the team’s four total field goals in the game. After adding a free throw, Lindsay ended with 5 points.

Mickelson had both of the team’s other two field goals to finish with 4 points. 

Kennadee Owens’ game was cut short due to a knee injury in the first half, but she managed to go 2 for 4 from the charity stripe to add 2 points for the Lady Bulldogs. 

Summer Teter and Kenadee Rael also had 1 point each against the Lady Panthers, while McIntosh had both of the Lady Bulldogs’ assists on the night.

On to Regionals

Lovell will be the second seed coming out of the 3A Northwest heading into the 3A West Regional Tournament in Thermopolis this weekend.

To kick things off, the Lady Bulldogs will face off against the Lyman Lady Eagles on Thursday at 10:30 a.m.

“It’s a ‘one game season’ from here on out,” Edwards said. “We have to play every game like it could be our last or it will be.”

The Lady Bulldogs will focus on playing more physical and more intense and feel like that will be key in defeating any opponent at this point of the year.

With all eight teams in the 3A West capable of moving on to the state tournament, Lovell will need to provide the mental confidence necessary to be one of the top four to advance.

“Lyman has a history of strong performances come tournament time, and they’re a team that can create chaos with their full-court pressure,” Edwards said. “It will be vital for us to take care of the ball and execute our half-court sets against their zone.”

BrinLee Bradshaw leads the Lady Eagles, averaging just over 9 points a game, and Lovell plans to limit her touches inside to force Lyman to take perimeter shots over contested close-outs.

Although Lovell handily defeated Lyman only a couple of
weeks prior to this rematch, the Lady Bulldogs know they won’t go down without a fight.

Thursday’s outcomes will determine who Lovell will face on Friday.

“We need to win two games before we lose two games,” Edwards said. “We’ve shot well in Thermopolis in the past, and we’re looking forward to a successful weekend.”

JV wrap-up

The Lady Bulldogs junior varsity squad concluded their season on Thursday night with a 45-30 loss in Powell to the Lady Panthers.

Jenna Hessenthaler and Kindle Collins led the Lady Bulldogs balanced scorebook with 6 points each.

Brooklin Clark added 5, Lindsay 4, CeCe Collins 4, Kaydree Owens 2, Kandace Asay 2 and Hannity Felkins 1.

“These girls worked hard all season long,” JV coach Dane Robertson said. “They have a lot of work to do to reach their full potential, but that potential is extremely high.”

The Lady Bulldogs JV team finished their season 9-8, and Robertson stated, “The future of Lovell Lady Bulldog basketball is bright.”