Ladies get second conference win

It was a busy three-game week for the Lady Dogies last week, but in the midst of those three contests, head coach Mike Pederson’s crew claimed their second conference win against the Lady Herders of Glenrock (48-27) on senior night Friday in the Dome.

“The win on Friday was a good one for us and we needed that,” Pederson said. “We needed the conference win for regional standings, and we played one of our better games.”

Newcastle took the court on Friday down starting point guard Adalyn Olson, who suffered a concussion near the end of the Lady Dogies’ 38-45 loss against Upton on Feb. 11.

In similar style as recent contests (including Tuesday) the Lady Dogies started strong, leading the Lady Herders by five at the end of one and 11 by the end of the half, but a sluggish third quarter allowed Glenrock back in the game and the Herd even tied the game at 23s before Pederson’s crew rallied back with a solid fourth quarter where they out-scored Glenrock 18-4 to take the decisive 3A East victory.

“I thought we played really good defense and we shot the ball pretty well, so I’m pleased with that.” Pederson said. “They only shot 18% — whether that was our defense or shot selection I don’t know — but I’d like to think our defense had something to do with that.”

In contrast, the Lady Dogies’ shot selection was better than it’s been and they did a nice job of finishing at the basket.

Syd Pederson notched a double-double, scoring 14 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. Lillie Morrill was close to doing the same, also scoring 14 points and grabbing seven rebounds.

“We moved the ball really well, and my teammates were really good at seeing that I was open,” Morrill said. “I just went and sealed the back side and I got a lot of buckets that way.”

Against the 1A No. 1-ranked Lady Bobcats on Tuesday, Newcastle led by three points at the half but in the second half, Upton’s size got the better of the Lady Dogies and they out-scored Newcastle by 10 to take the win.

“We knew this was going to be a tough game, but I thought we did a good job defensively and played more physical than we have the last few games,” Pederson said. “We never really got into a groove offensively though, and once again turnovers plagued us in the second half (18 of the 30 in the second half).”

On Saturday, the Lady Dogies traveled to Torrington to take on the 3A fifth-ranked Lady Trailblazers in another conference match-up. This time, the squad was missing both of their starting guards, Olson and Delainey Dresen.

As opposed to both Tuesday and Friday, Newcastle struggled to score in the beginning of the contest, only putting three points on the board by the end of the first half. Five points were gained in the third quarter and six in the fourth, but the size and physical play of the ‘Blazers was too much for Pederson’s crew and they dropped the contest, 14-56.

“Torrington is playing really well right now, and it just wasn’t our day,” Pederson said. “We struggled to find a flow without Ad and Delainey, so it was a tough day all around.”

“They are also a tough match-up for us,” he continued. “We just couldn’t find a solution to guard their high-low posts, which made it really hard for us to stop them.”

This week, the Lady Dogies will travel to Rawlins on Friday for another 3A East conference match-up. Pederson noted that it should be a good game given that the two teams look very similar on paper, but that the win is also an important one for regional seeding purposes.