Dawgs’ court: Girls set goals for season, title

ARCHIVE PHOTO BY LISA McGINTY | LMc Photography

Dalton senior Mia Weaver leads the Lady Dawgs onto the court this season.

By ARIEL STAHLER

DGKN sports writer

This year, Dalton High School’s girls varsity basketball team is approaching the season one game at a time, according to head coach Katie Miller. However, that does not mean the Lady Dawgs do not have any long-term goals in mind.

Miller detailed the team’s goals at the end of the season are to claim the WCAL championship, then the district crown, regional title and finally a state championship.

To prepare for those goals, the team put in work over the offseason that will help them be successful over the course of the season.

“We have had a busy preseason and start to our season,” Miller said. “We have spent a lot of time preparing for opponents. However, looking forward to having more practices over the next two weeks to work on things, specifically on the defensive and offensive end.”

Miller said her team expects to compete with the best teams on their schedule and win, but there is not one particular game they have circled on the calendar.

“The WCAL has many great players and coaches,” said Miller. “We look forward to every league matchup and have a strong non-league schedule that will be challenging for us, but we believe will make us better and better prepare us.”

Some players to watch include: Ella Lunsford, Addesa Miller, Kylee Johnson, Mia Weaver, Sarah Witmer, Marley Clark, Maddy West and Da’Mareia Sampson.

Losing star Tess Denning to graduation was hard for the Lady Dawgs, but they are looking to fill the space left by her.
“Tess Denning was awesome,” said Miller. “She was a great leader and averaged a double-double for us. It has been quite a few years since Dalton girls basketball had a player average a double-double. It will take a few of our current seniors and juniors to fulfill the holes Tess left. We will need to rebound the ball better and defend the paint better.”

Dalton started the week with a 53-42 road win over Smithville Nov. 24. Johnson was feeling strong from the 3-point line as she found the bottom of the net four times. She finished with 18 points and two rebounds. Lunsford totaled 14 points, five boards and three assists.

Addesa Miller put up nine points, six rebounds and one assist. Caroline Chubbuck and West both scored three points each and West added one rebound and one assist. Clark contributed two points and one assist. Weaver pulled 12 rebounds, scored four points and dished out two assists. Witmer took two boards and dropped three dimes.

The Lady Dawgs fell to St. Vincent-St. Mary 46-34 on the road Nov. 24. Lunsford nailed two triples and was 11-14 from the free throw line during her 23-point performance. She also secured three rebounds. Johnson contributed eight points. Weaver grabbed nine boards, scored three points and passed one assist. Addesa Miller ripped three rebounds and dropped two assists.
Clark and Witmer both took down two boards each. Kendall Maibach pulled one rebound.

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