Lady Bulldogs rebound from Cody loss to clobber Worland

It certainly must be a sign of fortitude for a team to get absolutely crushed one night, then come back to win the next, both against conference opponents.

Indeed, the shorthanded Lovell Lady Bulldogs, playing without three key players, found themselves on the short end of a 64-12 score at Cody Friday night but rebounded to stop Worland Saturday at home, 47-23.

Coming into the weekend, the Lady Bulldogs were missing three players: sophomore center Celeste Lindsay, out for the season with a knee injury; Becca Nichols, out for family bereavement reasons; and Kenadee Rael, nursing a shoulder injury. And Rael was coming off her best performance of the season against Pinedale, when she scored 21 points and had seven assists and three steals.

At Cody Friday, the third-ranked Fillies blew out to a 29-3 lead after the first quarter, forcing numerous turnovers.

“The frustrating part was, we felt we had a good week of practice working on their pressure and us being more physically ready,” head coach Brian May said. “But their length and physical stature are hard to replicate in practice, even though we put more players on the court (on defense) to simulate it.

“We had kids in different positions where we felt they could be successful, but we got in foul trouble so we had to rotate in some young kids who were nervous. It shows us, too, as a program that we need to get stronger, more athletic and skilled with the ball – ballhandling, passing, shooting and attacking – in order to play with some of the elite teams in 3A.”

Cody is also a tough place to play, May noted, adding, “They’re loud, and the fans get on you.”

Cody went on to outscore Lovell 12-2 in the second quarter, 16-5 in the third and 5-2 in the fourth with the running block mercy rule in effect.

Kennadee Owens and Libby Mickelson scored 4 points each for Lovell, Breeah Jones and Hannity Felkins 2 apiece.

“We’ve got to get some scorers in our program who can consistently get you double figures,” May said. “I hope the kids and their parents understand we’ve got to put more work in.”

Worland

Saturday afternoon, the Lady Bulldogs made it a season sweep against the Worland Lady Warriors, pulling away in the second half for a 24-point win.

The two teams traded baskets for most of the first half. Lovell forged an 8-5 lead by the end of the first quarter, but they couldn’t find the baskets in the second as Worland won the quarter 7-3 to lead 12-11 at halftime.

“We got in foul trouble again,” May said. “Both Kennadee (Owens) and Breeah (Jones) got two quick fouls. We tried to rotate in different kids to see if we could get into some kind of rhythm, but it didn’t take off.

“Defensively, we did a really good job in the first half not allowing them to go on a run and get a big lead.”

At halftime, May essentially told his team to go out and take care of business, and then as if a switch was turned on, the Lady Bulldogs heated up in the third quarter, draining a trio of three-pointers in a 20-8 quarter run that left the home team up 31-20 after three. Senior center Owens gave the Lady Bulldogs the lead with a power spin move, and after a Worland bucket, a Lovell free throw knotted the score 14-14.

Senior forward Jones drilled the first of the three treys for the Lady Bulldogs, and after Kathya Navarro answered at the other end, senior Raegan May hit a three-ball from the side, and Owens hit a follow shot inside to put Lovell up 22-17. Jones hit another
trey as part of a 9-1 run to close out the quarter as Lovell led by 11.

Lovell cruised to a 16-3 advantage in the fourth to win going away, 47-23, as May drilled two more treys, Mickelson one.

 “The girls were more assertive in the second half, and our rebounding was great,” May said. “In being assertive, they got to the (free throw) line more, especially Libby and Kennadee, which helped.

“Our shooting really improved. We’ve been shooting a lot in practice, and that carried over. The girls do look more confident, too, with no hesitation – just catch and shoot.”

Lovell shot 33 percent from the field, 43 percent from beyond the arc (6-14), while the visitors connected on just 19 percent of their shots and hit just one of 16 three-point attempts. Lovell also hit 15 of 26 foul shots (58 percent), Worland 6 of 18 (33 percent).

Mickelson led a balanced scoring attack with 11 points, and May added 9, Owens 8, Brooklin Clark 7, Jones 6, Felkins 4 and Avery Walker 2.

The Lady Bulldogs outrebounded Worland 40-20 as Jones pulled down 10 boards, Mickelson eight and Owens five. Jones also led the team with six assists.

Home cooking

The Lady Bulldogs will enjoy a two-home-game weekend for the first time this season as they host Lyman Friday and Mountain View Saturday with tip-off times set for 4 (JV) and 5:30 p.m. Friday and 10 and 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

Lyman is 11-7 overall but 0-6 in conference games after a loss to top-ranked Pinedale Friday, 60-26.

“They have a group of athletic kids, but they don’t have a lot of size like they did in the past,” May said. “They’ll pressure you and get after you defensively. They run the floor really well and try to get up and down the floor quickly.”

Mountain View is 13-5 on the season, 3-3 in conference play after beating Lander 45-43 Friday and Rawlins 48-31 Saturday.

“They’re a good team,” May said. “They’re big and athletic and have some good players in the post. The Hickey girl (Addison) is extremely athletic and is good on both offense and defense.”