DALTON GIRLS BASKETBALL: First quarter trouble hurts Lady Dawgs

PHOTOS BY LISA McGINTY | LMc Photography

Dalton senior Tess Denning pulled down eight rebounds Jan. 14 against Norwayne.

By ARIEL STAHLER
Gazette & News sports writer

A big first quarter by Norwayne was too much for Dalton High School’s varsity girls basketball team to overcome in their Jan. 14 home game. The Bobcats won 52-20. Dalton now has an overall record of 7-7 and they are 6-3 against WCAL teams.

Norwayne outscored Dalton 16-6 in the first quarter. By halftime, the Lady Dawgs were trailing 26-11. Dalton was held to only four points in the third quarter and five points in the fourth, while the Bobcats scored 13 points in each quarter.

Ella Lunsford was Dalton’s top scorer with seven points. She also grabbed three rebounds and dished one assist. Tess Denning pulled down eight rebounds, in addition to six points and one assist. Maddy West finished with four points and two rebounds. Mia Weaver had four boards, two points and two assists. Sarah Witmer ended with one point and one assist.

Dalton’s head coach Katie Miller summarized where her team struggled against the Bobcats.

“Overall, we did not play offensively or defensively how we would have liked,” she said. “We will continue to work on getting better in both of those areas.

“Norwayne is a tough matchup,” Miller continued. “They have two post players that can score. If they play two posts, they are a hard matchup defensively, and when they only play one, they are always staying fresh at that position because they have one to sub in for the other on the bench. They have a veteran group at guard play that shoots the three well.”

The Lady Dawgs have another important week coming up with two league opponents, Miller noted.

Dalton will be up against Smithville and Waynedale.

In the JV game this past week, Dalton won 36-25. Kylee Johnson led the Lady Dawgs with 13 points and Marley Clark scored 10 points.

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