HS BASKETBALL: Lady Dawgs run in to trouble on the road

Dalton’s Lauren Clos against Norwayne Dec. 3. (PHOTOS BY AMBER DOTY | FOR THE DGKN) 

Dalton’s Mia Weaver.

By ARIEL STAHLER
DGKN sports writer

Dalton High School’s varsity girls basketball team ran into trouble on the road with losses to Norwayne and Marlington. The Lady Dawgs have an overall record of 1-3 and a WCAL record of 1-1.

Norwayne jumped out to a 14-8 lead in the first quarter of the Dec. 3 game and Dalton was not able to overcome it. The Bobcats won 49-32. Senior Tess Denning led the Lady Dawgs with 12 points and six rebounds. Lauren Clos helped out with 10 points, in addition to grabbing four boards and passing one assist. Ella Lunsford had seven points, one rebound and one assist.

Sarah Witmer nailed one three-pointer and pulled three rebounds. Addesa Miller yanked four boards. Mia Weaver finished with four assists and two rebounds.

“Norwayne was more physical than us and out-hustled us,” said Dalton’s head coach Katie Miller. “Our players need to commit to giving it their all for the entire 32 minutes. Our guard play is young and they need to understand what ‘playing hard’ means. It starts on the defensive end. Offensively, we have to be patient and give Tess Denning more touches.”

Dalton’s road troubles continued when they traveled to Marlington Dec. 5. Marlington won 52-35. Katie Miller outlined what her team was up against.

“We knew Marlington was going to be a tough matchup,” she said. “Our young players need to realize what it takes to compete at the varsity level. Our seniors last year made it look very easy and I think our players are beginning to realize it takes a lot of physical and mental energy and toughness to compete at the level winning teams compete at.”

Addesa Miller totaled 13 points, three rebounds and two assists. Denning was just shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Kylee Johnson scored six points and grabbed one rebound. Lunsford put up four points, four boards and two assists. Weaver chipped in two points.

Katie Miller noted what she would like her team to improve on in the coming games.

“Tess Denning needs to continue to be a bigger part of our offense and our guards need to be more patient, take care of the basketball and work the ball side to side to allow Tess to get touches and scoring opportunities,” she said. “Young teams can have success, but we must get better on both ends of the floor. We will need a really good week of practice to prepare for Smithville and Western Reserve.”

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