Lady Bulldogs win two of three in Douglas

After opening the season with a pair of wins against solid Class 2A opponents, the Lovell Lady Bulldogs got their first taste of Class 3A competition at the Douglas Classic and won two of three games.Lovell opened with Wheatland Friday afternoon and dispatched the fellow Lady Bulldogs 61-40. It was an early call Saturday as the Lady Bulldogs powered past second-ranked Rawlins 66-55 in an 8 a.m. game, but the early start might have had an effect on the Lady Bulldogs as they looked sluggish Saturday afternoon in a 65-60 loss to Torrington.[caption id="attachment_9660" align="alignright" width="207" class=" "] Lovell junior Mykelle Nichols glides to the basket against the Wyoming Indian High School Lady Chiefs during Lovell’s 65-58 win on Dec. 11. The Lady Bulldogs went 2-1 at the Douglas Classic over the weekend.[/caption]“Our girls went in with some confidence, knowing they’d had some success in volleyball against 3A competition,” Lovell coach Chris Edwards said. “We were a little tight against Wheatland in the first half but relaxed a bit and held them to 11 points in the second half. It was a matter of playing smarter and defending better.“We had some silly fouls in the first half but in the second half were able to get some transition baskets and run the floor. We were able to use our quickness and make it an up-tempo game. It was a good way to start the tournament and get a feel for 3A competition.”The two teams traded baskets in the first quarter, and Wheatland took a 16-15 lead after one. Lovell pulled ahead to lead 33-29 at halftime thanks to an 18-13 second-quarter advantage, then forged a double-digit lead after three, 46-36, after outscoring Wheatland 13-7 in the third quarter. Lovell broke the game open by out-scoring Wheatland 15-4 in the fourth quarter.Savanna Savage and Chayli McArthur scored 17 points each for the Lady Bulldogs, Lauren Hinckley 11. Emilee Reasch grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the team, and Chayli McArthur snared six caroms. Mykelle Nichols passed for eight assists.LOVELL (61)Madison Harper 0 0-0 0, Mykelle Nichols 2 1-2 5, Savanna Savage 5 7-7 17, Lauren Hinckley 5 0-1 11, Chayli McArthur 8 1-2 17, Charri McArthur 1 0-0 3, Miranda May 1 0-0 2, Sara Clark 0 0-0 0, Emilee Reasch 3 0-0 6, Kaitlyn Mickelson 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 9-12 61.WHEATLAND (40)Ashley Hyche 0 0-0 0, Ellen Anderson 3 2-2 9, Katie Phifer 3 0-0 6, Shelby Connolly 4 5-9 13, Avery Hanks 1 0-0 2, Niki Horblit 1 0-0 2, Bailey Tillman 2 2-7 6, Madissen Hester 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 9-18 40.Lovell             15    18    13    15 – 61Wheatland     16    13      7      4 – 40Three-point field goals – Hinckley 1, Charri McArthur 1; Anderson 1. Fouled out – none. Total fouls – Lovell 16, Wheatland 14.Raiding the OutlawsBetter depth and balance paid off for the Lady Bulldogs against second-ranked Rawlins early Saturday morning as Lovell prevailed 66-55 despite 26 points from Echo Martinez.Edwards said the Lady Outlaws have a dynamic duo in guards Quriss Romero and Bailey Forney, who he called “probably the best one-two guard combination” in the state.“We focused so much on the guards that we gave up a lot of back-side layups to Martinez,” Edwards said. “She did a good job collecting missed shots, too.”Lovell trailed 11-10 after the first quarter but outscored Rawlins 19-10 in the second quarter to lead 30-22 at halftime. Savage and Chayli McArthur had 7 points each in the first half, Mykelle Nichols and Reasch 6 apiece.“We did a better job in our half-court man defense,” Edwards said. “We were able to get a couple of their girls in foul trouble, and they didn’t have the depth that we have. We’re better balanced. We have five or six girls who can score every game.”Lovell outscored Rawlins 17-14 in the third to lead 47-36, and the two teams traded baskets in the fourth as Lovell won by 11. Handling Rawlins’ pressure was a key, Edwards said.“We did a good job handling their press,” he said. “We didn’t allow them to create a lot of turnovers and turn them into transition baskets. That’s what they like to do.”Hinckley led Lovell with 15 points and Savage added 14, Nichols and Chayli McArthur 13 each. Emilee Reasch had a strong overall game with 7 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and three steals. Hinckley grabbed seven rebounds, Savage and McArthur five each.LOVELL (66)Madison Harper 0 0-0 0, Mykelle Nichols 5 2-4 13, Savanna Savage 5 4-5 14, Lauren Hinckley 4 7-8 15, Chayli McArthur 6 1-2 13, Charri McArthur 0 4-4 4, Sara Clark 0 0-0 0, Emilee Reasch 3 1-5 7, Kaitlyn Mickelson 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 20-28 66.RAWLINS (55)Bailey Forney 3 7-11 13, Carson Hilim 0 0-0 0, Quriss  Romero 5 2-8 12, Mariah Sheets 0 0-0 0, Aubrey Jennings 1 2-2 4, Echo Martinez 10 6-10 26, Madeline Mika 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 17-31 55.Lovell        11    19    17    19 – 66Rawlins     12    10    14    19 – 55Three-point field goals – Nichols 1. Fouled out – Forney, Romero. Total fouls – Lovell 18, Rawlins 21.First lossThe Lady Bulldogs suffered their first loss of the season Saturday afternoon when they fell to the Torrington Trailblazers 65-60. Lovell hung tough in the first half, trailing 27-26 at halftime, only to see Torrington pull ahead with a 21-12 third-quarter advantage to lead 48-38.Lovell fought back in the fourth, outscoring Torrington 22-17 and pulling within three with a minute and a half left, but four players fouled out, which “limited our offensive punch at the end,” Edwards said.“Torrington is a solid, physical team, and our legs were a little tired going into the third quarter, especially after matching up with Rawlins at 8 a.m.,” Edwards noted. “We were tired and didn’t rotate well and committed way too many fouls in the third and fourth quarters.“Torrington out-worked us for a number of 50-50 balls, and in the first two games we were getting the 50-50 balls.”Hinckley finished with 15 points for the Lady Bulldogs, Reasch 14 and Nichols 11. Reasch grabbed 18 rebounds for a double-double, and Nichols had five assists.LOVELL (60)Madison Harper 0 1-2 1, Mykelle Nichols 4 1-1 11, Shelby Wardell 0 0-0 0, Savanna Savage 1 3-4 5, Lauren Hinckley 5 3-3 15, Chayli McArthur 2 2-6 6, Charri McArthur 2 0-1 6, Sara Clark 1 0-0 2, Emilee Reasch 5 4-6 14, Kaitlyn Mickelson 5 4-6 14. Totals 20 14-22 60.TORRINGTON (65)Yanni Saucedo 4 9-16 17, Kayla Frazier 6 4-6 16, Lindsey Lemmon 2 2-4 7, Madi Haun 1 3-8 5, Maddy Werner 1 3-7 5, Sara Kostur 5 1-2 11, Paige Ulrich 1 0-0 2, Virginia Anderson 1 0-0 2, Sydney Hill 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 22-43 65.Lovell         12    14    12    22 – 60Torrington   13    14    21    17 – 65Three-point field goals – Nichols 2, Hinckley 2, Charri McArthur 2; Lemmon 1. Fouled out – Nichols, Savage, Chayli McArthur, Charri McArthur. Total fouls – Lovell 30, Torrington 20.Break timeThe Lady Bulldogs head into the Christmas break with a 4-1 record and will return to action on Jan. 9-10 when they travel to Thermopolis for the Big Horn Basin Classic. They then head to Cody for their first conference game on Jan. 13.