HS GIRLS BASKETBALL: Lady Dawgs fall to Golden Bears, come back to bite Tigers

Dalton’s Emma Lunsford drives the ball down the court. Waynedale won 53-45 Dec. 17. (PHOTOS BY AMBER DOTY)

By ARIEL STAHLER
Gazette & News sports writer

Dalton High School’s varsity girls basketball team ran into trouble against Waynedale.

They came back to end the week with a win over Massillon.

Ella Lunsford had a big game, but it was not enough to propel the visiting Lady Dawgs to victory over the Golden Bears on Dec. 17. Waynedale won 53-45. Lunsford scored a team-high 18 points, while grabbing six rebounds and passing one assist. Addesa Miller finished with 13 points, three boards and three assists. Eight was the lucky number for Tess Denning, as she scored eight points and pulled eight rebounds. Lauren Clos added two points. Mia Weaver ended with two points, five rebounds and two assists.

Dalton’s head coach Katie Miller detailed the strength of Waynedale and the key to a win over the Golden Bears.

“We played well and had opportunities, but (we) must continue to improve,” she said. “Ella had a nice game. They have three players that are very good. We did a nice job on two of the three and next time (we) will need to do a better job on all three if we want to have success. But, overall, we are seeing im-provement, as well as playing at a high level for 32 minutes.”

The Lady Dawgs took down Massillon, 57-47, on the road Dec. 19. Denning finished with a double-double of 19 points and 16 rebounds. Lunsford had 14 points and six boards. Addesa Miller scored 13 points and pulled six rebounds. Clos ended with three points, two rebounds and one assist. Weaver grabbed eight rebounds, scored two points and dished two assists. Marley Clark finished with two points and one rebound. Sarah Witmer had six rebounds and three assists.

“Massillon has a lot of speed, especially their point guard,” Katie Miller said. “Later in the game, we did better covering our gaps, but their guards did a nice job spotting up and hit some late threes. We did an excellent job at getting to the rim. Tess, Addesa and Ella all had nice games on the offensive end. Sarah, Mia, Lauren, Kylee and Marley all made some nice plays throughout the game on both ends. Great win for our team. Now we prepare for Smithville.”

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