Lady Dawgs claim district crown

PHOTOS BY ANNIE WEAVER
Dalton’s varsity girls basketball team earned the district title Saturday against No. 2 Loudonville 63-43.

Dalton senior Mia Weaver holds up the basketball net after Dalton followed tradition of cutting it down for winning the tournament. The team heads to regional semifinal against Bristol.

By ARIEL STAHLER
DGKN sports writer

After bouncing the No. 1 seed out in the district semifinal, Dalton High School’s varsity girls basketball team claimed the district crown with a Division IV district final win to move on to the sectional tournament.

Earlier in the week, No. 3 Dalton pulled a 38-19 upset over No. 1 Cuyahoga Heights in the district semifinal.

“Cuyahoga Heights is very well coached,” said Dalton’s head coach Katie Miller as her team prepared for the game. “They defend you well in the half court and are very patient offensively. We will have our hands full containing their ‘Big 3.’”

The Lady Dawgs did what they needed to contain Cuyahoga Heights, as Dalton held them to only eight points in the first half. Addesa Miller guided the Lady Dawgs with 11 points. Mia Weaver added eight points. Ella Lunsford and Kylee Johnson both finished with seven points each.

After taking out the top seed, Dalton was on a roll heading into their district final game against No. 2 Loudonville Feb. 26. The Lady Dawgs never trailed during the 63-43 win. Addesa Miller was superb on offense and defense as she finished with 19 points and nine rebounds.

Johnson scored 13 points while also maintaining excellent defense against the Redbirds. Lunsford also put up 13 points. Weaver ended with nine points.

Dalton will match up against Bristol in the regional semifinal March 3.